Painted Out

  About a year or so ago, I would have never considered painting on a scrapbook page. Paint has become  a staple product in my arsenal of tools. I was glad to have it when I pulled out some Halloween photos from a carnival we had taken my son to. I always struggle with photographing him at carnivals. There are just so many people around. It seems like strangers always get into the shots. When I do come around to scrapping pages from events like these, I often find myself trying to come up with ways to hide the unwanted people in the background. Sometimes I use embellishments. Other times, journaling on strips of paper does the trick. For this page, I chose to use paint.

Frosted Designs Sketch #31
Basic Grey papers
DMC floss, white acrylic paint
Glimmer mist in black magic and tiger lily
K and company border stickers
Prima black ribbon
Cosmor Cricket tiny type alphas
glossy accents
 Marcella K large black alphas

 I just started the photography class at big Picture. So maybe the next time I take my son to a carnival, I will know some tricks to take better photos in crowds. Meanwhile, I have photos of the less than perfect nature from past years. I guess it's a good thing that I like paint!

Safe as Houses

Any Depeche Mode fans out there? If you are a fan, you may recognize part of a lyric from one of their songs. I felt it worked well as the title here. I am sure some of you may remember me blogging about our cat who we almost lost a few months ago. These photos are part of the time when we knew he'd be ok. Boo was  now well enough to not have to separated from our other cat. One of the first things he did, was to stay close by my son. Where my son went, Boo went. So for many nights in a row, I tucked the cat into bed with my son and our dog. I think Boo wanted to feel safe and being near to his family helped him feel that way.

Pencil Lines sketch 248
Frosted Designs Fab. Fri. challenge for 8-5-11: colour on it
Crate Paper Neighbourhood Collection papers,die cuts, stickers
Dew Drops
Craft Affair heart brad coloured with Bic Mark it in Desert rose
Bic Mark it in woodsy brown
American crafts rub on alphas
Basic Grey Life of the Party alphas

I chose Crate Paper's Neighbourhood collection for this page because the papers reminded me of soft, warm blankets. The colours are sweet and gentle. They perfectly convey the mood of being wrapped up safely at home in your bed.
  While my son cuddled Boo, I snapped a close up of Boo's paws. When Boo is very happy, he flexes and curls his paws. I thought it would be neat to show some signs of a kitty who was happy once again.

Scraphappy.org August sketch
Crate Paper Neighbourhood collection papers, stickers
K and CO. pink frame, cut apart
Foof a la button with Prima e-line Pearl
dew drops
Craft Affair heart brads colourd with Desert Rose Bic Mark it

So while the events of Boo's illness may not have been one of the happiest parts of our life, I am grateful for a happy ending to document.

Happy Armed Forces Day!

  When I saw the challenge over at Frosted Designs to scrap something Patriotic in honour of the day, I knew at once what photo to use. Just yesterday, I had come across a photo of my husband receiving an award during his service.

Sketch Inspiration #220

I have had some K and CO. patriotic papers and stickers in my stash for years. I had gotten them with the intent of making a series of pages about my husband's time in the Air Force. There was no time like the present to use them.Since I didn't have much of these papers and wanted to replicate the look of the text printed in the white stripes of the flag, I used a tattered angels text stamp on cream paper. I then cut a variety of stars from it and inked them with Colorbox chestnut roan. Since my husband can not recall the exact reason for this award, I chose a quote by Franklin Roosevelt for the page.
  I am very happy about getting part of my Husband's time of service into my scrap album. I am sure my son will appreciate having it there in the years to come. I only wish I had done this much sooner. Now I have to locate the rest of his service photos. I think that, prior to having my son, I was a lot less organized with photos and that his birth has lent far more importance to them. So now I am off in search of more of those photos to scrap and stories to tell.

Someday

   As part of a recent writing assignment, my son was asked to illustrate and write about places he would like to visit. One of those places was France...or more specifically, Paris. I was struck by how passionate my son became as he talked about what he thought Paris was like. I felt like this would be a great moment to capture...one of my son's dreams. I think someday it will be neat to reflect back upon this page...especially if we ever get to visit Paris.

Sketches 4 All January Gallery girl Scraplift

  To capture the romance of Paris, I chose this older, cream colored paper from my stash. I don't know who makes it, but I do love the look of the white on cream words and phrases printed on it. For a Masculine vibe, I chose to go with a black, green and blue color palette. The Making Memories and crate paper patterned papers were a perfect fit. I mixed in some Crate Paper die cuts with Restoration border stickers, along with pink paislee chipboard, making memories flowers, and some office supplies. I must admit, that when I received the package of Pink paislee chipboard, I never thought I would find a use for the Eiffel Tower!

Scrapfit,workout#36
Scrap Whispers challenge #86
Frosted designs 1-25-11 Sketch

 The journaling was done on a Maya Road sheer ticket. A Tim Holtz compass mask with black magic glimmer mist adds to the travel theme. A fun set of pages, and a fond memory...and maybe Someday, there will be some photos of us in France.

I really didn't like that!

   That's what my son told me when he saw the pictures I had printed. They were photos of him and his Dad riding "Storm Force Accelatron" at Islands of Adventure. Both he and his Dad thought they would be getting on something akin to The Mad Hatter's tea cups at Walt Disney World. Let's just say this ride was not quite so tame.
   While they both were not fond of the ride, I am fond of the Layout I made about their experience. Since the ride was about Storm, from Marvel's X-men, I used white paint to create a tornado. To further the effect, I smeared and splattered Black Magic and Glacier glimmer mist, then drew swirls with a pencil. The fun, colorful polka dots of SEI's monsterville paper seemed the perfect complement to a theme park page. using a Kraft paper background softened some of the bright colors and busy action.



also submitted to Frosted Designs 1-21-11 challenge

 I made it a point the day we were there, to photograph the ride's sign so I could use it as a title. I fussy cut this out of the photo, along with Storm. I made Storm jump out from the page with some 3-d foam. I left part of the white boarder from the photo paper when I cropped down these wallet size photos for page two. it was a time saver and also helped me create separation between the busy blurred images. I wanted the photo of my husband and son exiting the ride to be set apart. So I mounted it on a chipboard block and added a transparency to it. The transparency said "you and me" on a small corner. I found these cloud and lightening shapes from American crafts Vinyl Teen to be perfect( prior to this page, I had no clue where I was going to use them! ). I used them to cover the word on the transparency and then as accents on the page. Green and black sequins add the finishing touches.

I completed this as the January Scraplift Challenge over at Sketches 4 all. My Fellow DT Stacy made this page for us to lift:

Made by Stacy Rodriguez

As you can see, mine changed quite a bit from the original. That's the beauty and the fun of scraplifting though. Maybe you should give it a shot...post your creation over at Sketches 4 all!                              

                               

The Process of Creation

It is something we all experience, especially as scrapbookers. We each have our own unique way of capturing what we want in our work. I was lucky enough to capture my son's creative process. Every year, we try to make a new decoration. This year, we made ceramic ornaments. As my son has gotten older, his process has evolved and become more precise.

Scraphappy.org January Sketch
7 Gypsies journal stamp, Crate Paper North pole collection papers
glimmer mist splatter background: electric blue and meadow
Pink Paislee Old school Glitter Alphas

His hands were literally a blur of motion. I realized I had captured this in several photos. So I used one to zoom in on his blurry hand. The rest of him is however, quite still and serious. he takes each step with complete, yet haphazard precision. It resulted in a gorgeous poinsettia ornament that I am proud to showcase.

1-11 Sketch Challenge from Frosted designs
Crate paper North Pole collection chipboard and papers
twinery cappuccino twine
buttons-unknown
Pink Paislee Old school glitter alphas
Glimmer mist in meadow and electric blue
Holly stickles

I enjoy capturing these moments with him. I know his creative process will continue to evolve. However, as he gets older, I wonder how often I will be privy to it. Either way, I will always enjoy the results of his labors.

Halloween Bonanza

  If you don't know by now, I love Halloween. I love the costumes, the trick or treating, carving pumpkins...well everything! Sadly, I am WAY behind in documenting the photos that go along with this holiday. So, with many recent challenges focusing on this spooky holiday, I took the opportunity to use some of my new BG Eerie paper to get those photos onto paper.

Let's Scrap sketch 10-13-10

Pumpkin carving is a favorite family pastime, so I wanted a fun, pumpkin theme page. Add to that the fun of incorporating your senses into the page...for carving pumpkins is a very touch based experience. Orange Cardstock set the mood and I loved the textured feel of the embossed felt pumpkin trim from Recollections Autumn collection. To add to the sense of touch, I used Chatterbox corduroy brads to hold twine and handmade felt banners. I found the poem on-line,printed and stamped a tree onto the background, then used colorbox inks in chestnut roan, olive and creamy brown to mimic the tones in the BG paper. I did the same with the title. Hand stitching added a warm cozy feel while i-rock jewels and orange peel stickles added a little glitz to the pumpkin stamp.

To scrap the trick or treat fun, I used Eerie papers over a DCWV purple Cardstock base. This is a hybrid page. I used a printed title from CLUB CK which I fussy cut and distressed with colorbox inks. I also distressed a prima flower with black ink, then added an Eerie brad for the center. This was the first page I had made with my new I-rock. I love how easy it is to put on jewels. The trim is from my local fabric store. I have been finding some great deals on trims and lace there.

completed for Sketches for All Sketch-a-thon

I love how the many challenges out there get me in the mood to scrap. There's a ton of Halloween challenges right now from the Halloween party at Sketches for All, Workout #30 at Scrap fit, to the Halloween/Fall challenge at Frosted.  Also, don't forget to submit to Scrap and Stamp Saturday if you use a stamp on your page. So go on out there...find challenges, make pages!

Inspired by Children's Books

  I have always had a love of reading. I share that with my son. Even at the age of ten, he still enjoys our nightly reading...from novels to him now being the one to read to me. So, when Challenge Masters issued the week 4 challenge to scrap with a Favorite kid's book as your inspiration, it was a snap for me. The most difficult thing actually proved to be deciding which book to use, as I had several ideas.  I finally settled upon using " The Story of Ferdinand" by Munro Leaf.

The colors fit some of the ones in a set of photos about my son using a wheelchair. We had been at a science center, and he got to experience an obstacle course that a disabled person might have to navigate through on a daily basis. He learned a little empathy that day. When I think of the character of Ferdinand, I think of him as stoic, strong in himself, yet gentle and full of compassion. So the book seemed like a good fit.

I chose to use the colors from the cover and to add floral designs to the page. I used SEI's black orchid paper along with Pink Paislee 365 degrees on a Bazzill cardstock background. I chose to ink the photos and the papers in Colorbox black ink to help them stand out. I used basic grey stamps in White Frost ink to mimic the look of the white flowers on the cover. A few sequins added a fun tough to the page. To make the title match, I selected some CM stickers on which I used a Martha Stewart opaque chalk pen to add a white design. I then used some glossy accents on the stickers to add dimension.

The end result, IMO, makes the photos pop and have more meaning. I have a few other kid's books I think I may use in the near future. It was certainly a fun challenge that brought more meaning into the page than might have otherwise been there.

***Update: this project was highlighted as a top 3 pick at Frosted designs!

jump for Joy: a recipe challenge

Recipe challenge can be...well, a challenge. That is the fun in them though...and they are a great way to use up you stash. Frosted currently has one underway. As I perused the ingredients list, I realized that the page I had just made using Scrapbook challenges sketch #212 fit the bill.

Lets see: bird(check),ribbon(check), felt flowers( that marks of two ingredients),buttons(check), and glitter(in the form of stickles). I believe that covers it! 6 ingredients! YES! There were 10 to choose from. perhaps you should head on over and see the list for yourself.

Meanwhile, I am a firm believer in combining challenges. So going through my challenge notebook, I realize I can also submit this page to:
                                             Big picture Scrapbooking for the "I Live" challenge today
                                             Scrapbook Challenges August color challenge
                                             Club Creating keepsakes Scrap your stacks challenge
                                             Sketches for you: Brenda's Fall colors challenge
                                             Challenge masters:go green inspiration challenge

being organized means being able to track and submit my work for a variety of challenges while still getting lots of pages done. I find I am creating more a lot more. So go get organized  and see just what you can come up with!

Hand Lettering

  My Writing is something I am not always fond of. In fact, it was something I struggled with in school. Over time, I have come to terms with my printing. I am comfortable enough to hand journal( I feel it's quite important to do so)...but in print form. I tend to make a rough draft and then...slowly, carefully copy those thoughts onto the page so it's legible. Cursive? UGH! I hate mine. I taught myself calligraphy and since then there has been some improvement. So you can imagine my thoughts at a recent challenge to hand letter a title. I shuddered to think about it. How could I pull off anything halfway decent?

  My first thought was to use my cricut to make a stencil. I started to do just that. Then, I decided to challenge myself. Could I mimic the look of a simple font? Looking at the screen, I carefully practiced a few times on a scrap sheet of paper. I decided it wasn't half bad. Now for the big risk! I pulled over the sheet of background cardstock and started the title. My one and only tombow marker slowly ran along the surface of the page. what resulted was a close rendition of the font I had in mind. It still needed a little more. I filled in the letters with the brush tip end, then took my black pen and made an outline. I actually liked it!  I decided to challenge myself to a little cursive. this time, my orange marker slowly moved across the page...and somehow, the results seem to fit with the fun, kid feel of the page.

-Arrow papers and orange triangle print from Sassafrass monstruosity.

-MM chipboard arrow- I drew on it with a white crayon, then inked it

with fresh green with moss green edges

-crate paper ribbon

-basic grey brads

- MM just chillin boy's collection: metal pow sign, diecut and journal spot

submitted at:

Sketches for You August #1 Scraplift and Ink challenge

Frosted Designs: need a little direction challenge

Club CK August week 1 Scrap Challenge; hand drawn title

Camp is over and now...

it's back to work. I had a great time participating in the Club Creating keepsakes summer camp activities. I used up more stash, which is always a good thing and means more pages are complete. As always, I try to combine challenges, both to save time and to push my limits. For my last Club CK project ( journaling), I chose to complete the July 1st Scraplift over at Sketches for You and Frosted's Border punch challenge. I also chose to make the sample for my July Start it Simple Color challenge posted at Sketches for you. My color palette was fun but challenging. It's called Hello calli: http://www.colourlovers.com/palette/1214904/Hello_Cali . 

This Lo  by Stacy R. was a wonderful page to scraplift:

It's a  fun and appealing page. I had a great time lifting it.

I chose PP from Cosmo Cricket's Boyfriend collection since I felt it best went with an LO about my DH at work. I also used some grid PP by Fancy pants. On some of the strips, I used an EK success notebook punch to match the work theme. Sometimes, color from a palette can be subtly used, especially when it's one you don't care for or don't have a lot of in your stash. In my LO, I used brown in the form of Catseye colorbox ink to ink the edges of the paper. The yellow/orange was used sparingly as an accent in the form of foofala buttons and the title. I chose the CK newsprint font as I felt it fit the theme of the page well. I also liked the "business" feel of the Basic Grey periphery ribbon. The 7 Gypsies journal tag also fit the theme well.

Here is my take from Stacy's page:

There is still time to play. So check out these sites and submit a creation of your own.
Sketches for you: http://sketchesforyou.ning.com/
Frosted:
http://frosteddesigns.blogspot.com/2010/07/lets-see-those-border-punches.html