A "Love" Themed Card Using MME Miss Caroline

This is a simple card I made this week to fit into three challenges.  The first is from Unscripted Sketches, which is where I got the layout idea for the card.  Here is Sketch #195:

The second is The Paper Girls Challenge #24 - Wood Elements.  This gave me the idea to use the wood grained papers in Miss Caroline (Fiddlesticks).

Finally, I entered this card into the Practical Scrappers Card Contest.  The first round submissions had to be a love theme.  So, I used the subway art piece from my 6x6 pad for the sentiment part of the layout.

Other than the MME Miss Caroline 6x6 pad, I used some kraft cardstock as the base, a doily, and a Stampin Up brad to finish this simple card off.

Ready to Roll

I actually got this week's MWM over at ScrapbookSteals done already!  I had this picture of my youngest sitting on my desk, and I decided to just go with it and make it work for Jade #7.

 I took inspiration from her hat (and outfit) and decided to use Sugar Cookie from Nikki Sivils for this layout.  The hearts with the purple and pink seemed to work perfectly.  Since the photo was a little off center, I deced to add some twine on the left side to balance the photo.

The hardest part of this layout for me was the embellishments tot he right of the title.  I just couldn't get them right.  But, I am at least not hating how it is now.  I do like the photo corners turned into arrows on the washi, but the rest is just ehh.

The bottom right corner was a lot easier :)

And here is the sketch from the wonder Kerys!

Mixing Papers for a Card and Layout

I decided I was going to do this month's Paper Secret's second sketch.  I had been meaning to do one of their sketches for the past few months, but time always slips away!  Well, this weekend I had a chance to tackle it.  And I decided to use a challenge over at 2Peas to help.  The challenge over there was to use stickers on your layout and then use some of the same things for a card.  So, here is what I came up with.

I used Amy Tangerine for most of this - her original line with American Crafts.  The yellowy thickers are part of that kit, and the the grey and brown are the same font/type that I got from Paper Secrets actually.  The stickers are Echo Park and Authentiic, and I added a little blue twine (probably Twinery, but it was a scrap so I am not 100% sure).

For the card, I took inspiration from Unscripted Sketches #194.  It even had the same piggy back as the 2Peas challenge - stickers!  I used four different lines of papers for this one - AC Amy Tangerine, Authentique Genuine, Echo Park Times and Seasons (background paper), and a tiny bit of MME Indie Chic (the banner stripe).  I had used some of the Authentique and MME on the layout, and the scrap of EP was perfect to mat the whole card.

Here are the sketches:

Kinect Sports - UIT Warm it Up with Red, Yellow, and Orange

Time for another fun challenge over at UIT!  For most of us, it is VERY cold out side, and I bet some of you are ready for winter to be over.  So, we are challenging you to warm up your projects using red, yellow, and/or orange.  Make sure you use some hoarded supplies, mention them as well as the challenge in your post, and then link up to the Use It Tuesday blog!

I went through my files of pictures to scrap, and starred the ones with red, orange, and yellow in them.  Then I through about the challenge, and decided to go with this photo of my kids.  I picked it because it is a winter photo (taken last year) and my son is in the red and yellow.  The picture is of my older two kids playing Kinect Sports skiing - a regular activity for them in the evenings after dinner during the winter.  

The layout is inspired by last week's Design Team Doodles over at Kiwi Lane Designs (the left side).  I used a mixture of MME Alphabet Soup, MME Six by Six, and Creative Memories papers on this.  The Creative Memories papers I have had for two years, and I had actually "given" them to my daughter for her crafting fun.  But, I thought they worked well with the MME papers, so I put them to work :)

I love this little die cut from the Alphabet Soup collection - it made the prefect accent in this corner.  The blue behind it was cut using the KLD Tiny Tags.

 I knew I needed to balance the page a little, so I went with some little banners on the left side.  This is where I pulled out my MME Six by Six scraps.  They have the same reds, yellows, and oranges in them, so I thought they worked well with the other papers.  And I finished them off with a stack fo buttons and a twine bow.

Now it is your turn!  Make something using paper and the colors red, orange, and yellow!  Use something things that have been sitting in your stash for a while, and link up!  We can't wait to see what you make!

Thanks...but I would rather stay and Eeyore LGS Reveal

Time for another fun sketch at Let's Get Sketchy!  This week's sketch is by our wonderful design team leader, Brenshevia.

I decided to scrap these pictures from 2008 of my oldest wearing our Pastor's Eeyore ears on Wednesday night at church.  We were hanging out in his office waiting for everyone to arrive, and I decided to see how she liked them.  It definitely made for some cute pictures!

For the layout, I used Fancy Pants Little Spout for the papers.  I loved the mix of lighter colors that aren't too baby or girly.  For the title, I used AC Thickers and MLS tiny alphas.  The title comes from a line in one of the Winnie the Pooh movies that I found via the internet   Then I finished off the page with a big button cluster.  I loved pulling out and using all of the different buttons I next to hoard.

Stop by the LGS blog to see the other wonderful design team inspiration!  And don't forget to play along :)

A Couple of Cards

I have been on a little card making spree.  It doesn't help that I committed to myself to make cards for every family birthday this year, and there are four in January!  And then three in February!  

The first card I use NS Dan the Record Man for a card for my BIL.  He likes music, so I thought these papers would work for him  I fussy cut most of the elements and then popped some up with pop dots.  I started with this sketch from Cardabilities, but it quickly took a life of it's own once I started fussy cutting:

The second card I helped my 5 yo make for Grandma.  She picked the Monday Card Madness sketch to use and helped pick out the Recollections Seasons papers (I let her pick from all of the February ones).  I think it is kind of cute :)  She even cut the heart herself this time.

January Layout using KLD DT Doodles

I finally got a chance to play along with the KLD DT Doodles!  Here is the great sketch I was working with:

I decided to use it for my January page in my 2013 album (see more information about it HERE).  I wasn't able to get one good photo of all three kids, but I got some cute ones anyways :)  I used a mix of Michael's Recollections Seasons 6x6 papers and MME Sweater Weather papers for this.

As for the templates used, I used Bracket 2T for the bracket shape below my son on the left page and Scallops mini 1A for the scallop shape on the right page.  Everything else was straight cuts on this one.

The page isn't fancy, but it is cute enough.  I didn't want anything really thick because my the end of the year the album is going to be huge anyways.  I plan on adding some words in white ink around the page at the end of the month  little pits of what we did, etc.

Thanks for stopping by and seeing my layout :)

I did it! Now what?

I had this photo of my daughter printed as a "possible" photo for Tuesday's Use It Tuesday challenge (can you guess the challenge by the photo?), but I decided to use another photo instead.  Then when I saw this week's MWM layout over at ScrapbookSteals, I decided it would work perfectly for that.  The only problem was I had no idea what papers to use!  Should I go primary and play with the red and yellow on the fire truck?  Should I go with purple and white to coordinate with her little outfit?  I just wasn't sure.  Then I watched this video over at Two Peas by Shimelle on picking colors.  And it was eye opening!  I went to bed Wednesday night with two ideas in my mind - either bright pinks and purples or muted tones.  I woke up Thursday, and as soon as I had the chance I pulled out my bright colors.  I quickly found that none of the papers were calling to me.  So, I decided to start with MME Follow Your Heart.  I pulled out all of the "basic" papers from the "girl" line as well as some MME Miss Caroline 6x6 papers I had in the same colors. I picked out the background  paper and the big strips of paper.  Then I had to decide on the mat for the photo.  I still had my new to me Crate Paper Peppermint 6x6 pad on my desk, and I thought the red and pink paper would work perfectly.  Next up was to pick out the purple bits.  The cherish piece is from MME Miss Caroline, and LIVE and purple paper behind it are Webster's Pages, and the banner tag shape is a piece from a Recollections 6x6 stack.  I pulled out my grayish AC Thickers as well as my light pink MLS mini alphas to finish the layout off.

And here is the sketch it is based off of:

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Monster Card

Last night I threw together this card for my nephew who is turned 6 soon.  I used Unscripted Sketches #193 for this along with Nikki Sivilis My Lil Monster.  I wish I had put the strips a little closer together, but I accidentally pushed down too hard to move them.  Oh well.  He is only 6, so he won't notice :)

Fish and Garden Tales (Jade 5)

 Kerys has another great sketch over at ScrapbookSteals - this time it is a two-page layout for Jade #5.

I used MME Follow Your Heart for this one, as I thought the blues and tans worked great with aquarium pictures.  Our city's aquarium and botanic gardens are right next door (sharing parking, concessions, etc), so any trip to the aquarium normally involves at least a quick trip tinto the gardens to play around some more.
The alphas I used are a mix of AC Thickers, Pebbles stickers, and Hobby Lobby (PaperStudio).
I created the waves at the bottom using Kiwi Lane Designs Spooky 2A and 2B.  Everything else is from the great MME line :)
And here are a few close ups:

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A Simple Birthday Card Using Kiwi Lane Spooky

So, I picked up two sets of Kiwi Lane Design templates from ScrapbookSteals last week, and I have already put them to use.  I used the scallops on my mini album (previous post), and I used Spooky for this card.  I took the chevron-looking template (1a or b) and just traced it on white paper with both black and grey marker.  It made a simple background for this card for my nephew.  Then I used Unscripted Sketches #192 for the inspiration on the layout.  The stamp is Stampin Up.  I had to get a little "fancy" with the stamping since the stamp has the words stacked.  But, I needed a longer sentiment for the card.  So, I did a little masking and got it to work this way.  The grey paper is just scrap that I embossed a little using my MS score board.  And the back circles are a button, and brad, and a random black plastic disc I had in my stash.

This card is for my oldest nephew who is about to be a teenager.  He loves black and grey - I think those are the only colors I saw him in over Christmas - so, I hope he likes the card!

MIni Mini Album/Card

 Earlier this week, Liz Chidester did a tutorial on MyLittleShoebox's blog about a mini album made from 1 8.5x11 piece of paper (and then decorated).  I knew I wanted to try it out, so I made the album.  Then I thought about what to use it for.  I have a ton of birthday cards to made,and I thought it would made a fun card!  But I knew it would be fairly thick, so I didn't want to mail it.  So I decided to make it for an almost 11 year old in our church that is just an amazing young lady!  She isn't into cute things anymore, and love horses and cowgirl-type things, so I decided to use MME Miss Caroline 6x6 papers for this.  Then I used MLS alphas throughout.  I decided to make it close, so I added two WRMK eyelets and a piece of random ribbon (I think it came from HobbyLobby) to finish it off (plus the standard HL brown pigment stamp around the edges).

Here is the cover with her initials on it:

Page 1: Devoted Daughter with Exodus 20:12 as the verse.

 Page 2: Caring Sister with 1 Thessalonians 5:11 as the verse.  I also used my new KiwiLane scallop templates on this one :)

 Page 3: Servant of God! with Galatians 6:9 as the verse.  Some how I lots the letter a along the way... I guess I will need to find a new one and put it back before I give it to her later this month :)

The back cover

Side view

I am entering this into two challenges.  The first is Scrapbook Steals Monday Craft Madness #7 - Think Mini!  This little album is definitely tiny!  Plus i used only 6x6 paper (which is the "tiny" variety) and a bunch of mini alphas.  The second is The Paper Girls Challenge #23 - Ledger Paper.  The front cover uses ledger paper as well as the tag on page 1.

Make it Sparkle! (UIT Reveal)

 Time for the first challenge for Term 4 over at Use It Tuesday.  Our challenge to you is to make it sparkle!  You can use glitter, bling, or anything else that sparkles and shines.  And I know you have to have some sparkly things in your stash!

I decided to do this layout of my son in his "winter" gear.  I had a one piece bunting for him in sizes NB and 6-9 months, but between those he wore this jacket and hat combo that was his big cousin's as well as some red footy pants when we went on walks that ended at the park.  I thought it was wintery enough to use this DCWV glitter stack paper I have had for at least 4 years.

The snow flakes are Hobby Lobby fun foam things i picked up to help decorate for my kids' snow birthday this past year.  I loved that the blue pulled the blue from his jacket and hat.

While digging to my stash for thread, I found this silver mesh from WP that I got in my warehouse box last summer.  It worked perfectly with the papers once matted loosely to the white paper.

 And the layout is finished off with a little stitching using WRMK Sew Easy floss that I have had for at least a year.

The sketch is from Artful Delights (ASC #27).  The title is inspired by a challenge over on Rochelle's blog - to use lyrics from Bill Crosby's "Baby, It's Cold Outside" on your layout.  And the winter part is inspired by Kerys's challenge on her blog this month.

Remember that to be eligible for Top 2 and Winner over at Use It Tuesday, you have to follow the theme (Make It Sparkle!), use hoarded supplies from your stash, and mention both the supplies and UIT in your post!  Oh, and don't forget to link up of course :)

Almost 2 and ready to dig in! - A LGS Reveal

It is time for another fun Let's Get Sketchy reveal!  This week's sketch is by Jenessa Franco. 

I decided it was about time to scrap these pictures from 2009 of my oldest with her cake for that year.  It was about a week before her birthday - just before Grandma went home (her baby brother was born a few weeks before her birthday).

I pulled out my MME Hip Hooray (Girl) for this one.  I decided to just go crazy with the layers on the right side and use as many of the scraps I had.  I misted the white cardstock with some OA sprinklers to add some interest.  Then I added the die cuts and popped them up for depth. The title is a mix of AC Thickers and MLS mini alphas.  And I finished the page off with some washi tape - MME Indie Chic and Downton Tape.

Now it is time for you to create!  You have until the end of the month to complete 3 layouts and be eligible for this month's drawing!

Design Team News and a Tractor Birthday Card

Time for some exciting news - I have been selected to continue on the Use It Tuesday design team as a member of Term 4!  We have a lot of fun exciting challenges coming up, and I hope you will join us in them!

And now for my most recent creation - a birthday card for a five year old that loves tractors!

I used MLS Simple Life for this one.  The farm papers are just perfect for a card for this little boy.  And the tractor stamp worked perfectly as well!  I stamped it using Stampin Up Wild Wasabi ink that my MIL got me for Christmas.  It is close enough to John Deer Green to keep this little guy happy.  And the sentiment is a Stampin Up stamp she also got me.
As for the design, it is based off of this month's sketch over at Artful Delights (ASC #28).  I love the simplicity of it - it made for a quick card for this little boy.

And just before I posted this I noticed one mistake - I didn't finish fussy cutting the popped up tractor!  There is extra white around the front wheel.  Oh well.  I don't know if they will notice.  I will just blame my kids wanting my "extra" tractor pieces while I was working on this card for it!