Family Game Night Layout

Hello and Welcome!

With family members from 15 to 50 years old, it can be challenging to find fun activities that everyone enjoys. But these new board games have really been a hit with us. Forget Sorry and Monopoly, today's games like Catan and Munchkin are so much more interactive and challenging.

This is us playing the extended version of Firefly, for which I had to clear off my scrapbook table to accommodate (oh the sacrifices):

I used mostly BoBunny products. The paper is their newer Carnival line and the swirls and pattern paper is BoBunny's Etc. line. Love how you can mix the older lines with the newer ones. I also based this layout on a BoBunny sketch. The mood photo at Creative Embellishments inspired me to use circles throughout this layout. I also used Creative Embellishment chipboard to create the title.

This layout is entered in:

• The Clique Kits March Challenge

• The March Challenge at Creative Embellishments

• The March Blog Sketch Challenge at BoBunny

-june

St. Patrick's Day Layout

Hello and Welcome!

I wanted to join in with the Scrappy Friends Challenge and thought it was perfect for doing our St. Patrick's Day layout. As I am very much of Irish descent, we always have a fun family celebration. Here is my take on Grand Diva's sketch:

Most of my products are by Doodlebug. But I had to include my favorite Leprechaun stamp by Whipper Snapper, which was colored with Copic and Zig Clean Color markers. The colors were inspired by Kelly's Mood Board with all the greens and clover. I added Prima flowers and a bit of shine with gold gems. I thought the gold cardstock was a little to plain, so I stamped  flowers on it with white pigment ink. For the background, I used a green polka-dot vellum by Doodlebug, inspired by Rochelle's This or That challenge.

This layout is entered in:

• The March Scrappy Friends challenges
• Brenda's March Sketch Challenge
• Rochelle's March This or That Challenge
• Kelly's March Mood Board Challenge

• The "We Can See Clearly" Monday challenge at Simon Says Stamp
• The "Come Rain or Shine" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp

Enjoy!
-june

Valentine's Day Layout

Hello and Welcome!

I love Pink Fresh Studio papers. They really give my layouts a clean, fresh look. I used Pink Fresh Studio's Felicity line which was part of The ScrapRoom's March Flavor-of-the-Month kit. I based this layout on Rochelle's sketch.

I was inspired to add some dimension by the Pink Fresh Studio Adding Dimension Challenge, so I started with the usual chipboard letters/flowers and foam squares on the birds & journaling. But I was really inspired by Nancy Daniano's 3-D paper die-cuts, so I created these 3-D hearts. I cut them from Simon Says Stamp "Large Holiday Shapes" die. Each 3-D embellishment has 3 hearts, stitched down the middle, then folded to fan out. The bottom heart is on a foam square to allow it to bend back a little.  Here is a close-up:

All of the products on this page are by Pink Fresh Studio and included in The ScrapRoom's March Flavor-of-the-Month kit except for the Thicker letters, gold thread, large pink flower and 3-D hearts. I was also inspired by The Paper Girls Challenge as this layout includes me a Paper Girl.

This page in entered in:

• The "Adding Dimensions" challenge at Pink Fresh Studio

• The March "Be Our Guest" Sketch Challenge at The ScrapRoom

• The Paper Girls Challenge #100 - Paper Girls

Yippee Coffee Card

Hello and Welcome!

Have you checked out the Amy's Coffee Lovers Blog Hop?! So many amazing projects by so many creative people - wow! Here is my newest entry using the new Tim Holtz Crayons:

Just got a set of Tim Holtz bright crayons and needed to try them out. I had so much fun!!! I scribbled them on watercolor paper, layering in a few different colors, then with water and my finger smudged and blended it. I kept adding color and water until I was happy. If you like watercolor and want more control & intensity with the colors, this is a great medium.

In creating this card I was inspired by the challenge photo at Waffleflower. The sentiment, "yippee" is my new favorite and is part of Waffleflower's "Congrats" stamp set. The little "YAY" logo is also part of that set. The coffee cup is a stamp by Tim Holtz and was colored with Copic markers and fussy cut. The bright flowers are from Waffleflower's DT Mix stamp set and were stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with neon powders by Recollections, then fussy cut. To finish things off I cut the colored panel with a stitched die-cut by Simon Says Stamp (Bundle of Stitched Shapes) added a few gems to the flowers and stickles to whipped cream.

This card is entered in:

• The Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop at Coffee Loving Cardmakers

• The "Food and Drink" Monday challenge at Simon Says Stamp

• The March Photo Inspiration Challenge at Waffle Flower

Thanks for stopping by,
-june

Strawberry Layout

Hello and Welcome!

I was inspired to create this page by the fun owl art at the Artastic Challenge (see link below) and the great strawberry papers (Heartland Farm & Parrrty Me Hearty) and sketch at Imaginisce. Here is my layout:

This layout was created with mostly Imaginisce products including the wonderful wood elements (Heartland Farm line), pattern papers and the fun Snag'em stamps, which I colored with Copic markers. I also used Thickers for the title and Prima flowers.

This layout is entered in:

• The March Sketch Challenge at Imaginisce

       

• The March Inspiration Challenge at ARTastic: 

            Mia Taninaka   "Oh The Wise One" 
           
            Inspired by Mia's use of colors, design, owl and the wooden background.
 
Thanks for stopping by,
-june

Happy Happy Easter

Hello and Welcome!

Here is what I need the Easter Bunny to bring me before the sunrise church service.

The background was created with water and Distress Inks (Blueprint Sketch, Mermaid Lagoon & Tumbled Glass).  The adorable Easter Bunny is by The Cat's Pajamas from the "Bunny Christmas" set, colored with Copic markers and fussy cut.  (Don't know if you can tell that the Easter Bunny is actually multi-tasking, as he is knitting a sweater behind that coffee cup. :-)  The coffee cup is by Tim Holtz and also colored with Copic markers and fussy cut. The grass is a die-cut by io stamps.

This card is entered in:

• The Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop at Coffee Loving Cardmakers

• TCP Tuesday Challenge #310 "Bunnies" at The Cat's Pajamas

• The "Cute and Cuddly" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp

• The March Inspiration Challenge at Paper Sweeties

Have a Happy Easter!
-june

Jackson Mixed Media Layout

Hello and Welcome!

I had so much fun and got so many great photos at Janet Jackson's Unbreakable concert, I decided to do another page on it. I have been wanting to "break out" my Gelatos for a long time. Mou's Challenge (see below) over at Faber-Castell finally gave me the inspiration I needed. Here is my mixed media layout:

I used Blueberry, Grape & Ice Metallic Gelatos on black cardstock and blended them. I love how the colors pop on the black and are perfect for a concert-themed page. I added the shattered triangles and swirls with F-C Silver Textured Luxe paste and stencil by Hero Arts. The chipboard embellishments by Scrapmatts were also colored with metallic Gelatos.




The glittered silver swirls are "Add A Flourish" die-cut by Cheery Lynn.










I added black and silver splatters from a mist I created from Gelatos. The musical stamp on the background is by Heidi Swapp stamped with F-C black Big Brush Pen. I also outlined the butterflies with F-C's white Big Brush Pen. The title was made with Thickers.







This page is entered in:

• The February "Work It Wednesday" challenge at Simon Says Stamp

• Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge #225

• The "Lucky Stars" Monday challenge at Simon Says Stamp (because Janet definitely counts as a star!)

• The a2z Scrapbooking March Embossing Challenge

Now go get your Gelatos and create something fun, you'll be glad you did.
-june

Floral Friendship Card

Hello and Welcome!

Stamping Smiles Designs' Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge is new and so much fun! This week I was able to get both a column (green-friendship-charm) and a row (friendship-gold-layers)! Here is the card I created:

I blended Distress Inks on the back of the Papertrey Ink floral stamps and then stamped with the correct side using Versamark and Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder (this is a technique shown at nicholheady.typepad.com). The sentiments are by Papertrey Ink and Cheery Lynn. I also created the background with a gold doily and a die-cut frame from Cheery Lynn. I finished it off with a cute butterfly charm.

This card is entered in:

• Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge Five at Stamping Smiles Designs

• The "Make Your Own Background" Monday challenge at Simon Says Stamp

• The "A Bit O' Green" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp

Find something that inspires you today and RUN with it!
-june

The Cat's Pajamas Spring Bunny Card

Hello and Welcome!

It's here - Spring that is! It is 60 degrees today in Minnesota. We usually don't see weather like this until May. I know we will get a few more snow storms, but the big snow drifts have all melted and around here that's spring.

So to celebrate, I made this The Cat's Pajamas "Long-Eared Bunny" spring card. (Shhh, this stamp is actually part of TCP's Bunny Christmas stamp set - the bunny is supposed to be holding mistletoe, but a little pink turns it to spring!)

I used Copic markers to color the adorable bunny stamp from The Cat's Pajamas. The pretty pink flower is the Tilth Floral die from Memory Box. The sentiment stamp is by Sweet n' Sassy and the background paper and fabric are by DCWV. The design of this card is based on a sketch at Mojo Monday.

This card is entered in:

•  TCP Tuesday Challenge #309 at The Cat's Pajamas

• The "A Bit O' Green" Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp 

• Memory Box Challenge #10 "Blossoms and Bunnies"
•  

Hope you enjoy celebrating this wonderful spring,
-june

Janet Jackson Concert Layout

Hello and Welcome!

I've been away for a while, my son's robotics team was at its regional tournament. And they won against 120 teams from all across the midwest. Trust me, you will be seeing plenty of layouts about this.

I grew up here in Minnesota and live very close to Lake Minnetonka. There must be something very magical about this lake as it has inspired so many amazing things, like Tonka trucks, moccasins, and music. In the early 1980s both Prince and Janet Jackson were creating their best songs right here. So, when Ms. Jackson came back to town, my wonderful husband surprised me with tickets as an early Christmas gift. The concert was fabulous. Here is my layout from that memorable evening:

This layout is based on a sketch from My Creative Sketches. The pattern papers are My Minds Eye "Fancy That." I also used Simon Says Stamp's "Music 2 My Ears" that were heat embossed with Ranger Princess Gold powder (the PRETTIEST gold ever!) on Sweet Stamps vellum and fussy cut. The wood shapes are by Studio Calico and the music notes are a Memory Box die-cut.

This page is entered in:

• The February Sketch Challenge at My Creative Sketches 
• 
   

• The March "Anything Goes" challenge at Clique Kits

Hoping you find a magical place,
-june