You're a Hoot - Amber 1

Last night I got to go to a Moms' Night Out craft night for my MOPS group.  In the 2 hours I was there, I got a great start on two layouts - which I thought was awesome!  Plus no kids to get in the way and adult conversation - it was amazing!  

The first layout I worked on was Amber 1 over at ScrapbookSteals.  The pictures are of my husband and two of his brothers building our kids' train track for the first time.  No, it wasn't the kids that were excited about the new toy as much as the big boys (although the little kids did and still do love it).  They wanted to get it built fast so they could play!

 The papers are Nikki Sivils You're a Hoot.  I thought the "hoot" sentiment was perfect for these silly "boys."  

 I topped off the layout with a die cut from PiggyTales Steadfast Tin Soldier, some Twinery Twine, and buttons from Stampin Up.

And here is the sketch it is based off of:

More information on the MWM series over at ScrapbookSteals can be found here.  And more information on this sketch and to see Kerys's fun interpretation of it can be found here.

learning - A LGS Reveal

 This week's amazing sketch over at Let's Get Sketchy is by the amazing Bev Code.  I love that it has a mix of hexagons, banners, and arrows!

I recently sorted my papers by color, and decided I had a TON of blue papers.  So, I started this layout looking through my drawer with turquoise paper.  I was immediately drawn to the gingham paper with the pink, blue, and green on it (the back side is a blue and white polka dot).  Then I remembered Rochelle's color challenge for this month, and thought I could really make this work!  I pulled out some of my MLS papers to go with the MME Hip Hooray paper and the dug out a piece of light pink NS paper to use for my hexagons.  For the banner, I just used scraps of the hexagons - each triangle is about 1/6th of a hexagon - and stitched them together with twine.

For the arrows, I decided to try stamping them.  I made an arrow template out of scrap cardstock, and then I used my MME border stamp and the three colors of ink to make the arrows.  I topped them off with a piece of the gingham paper and some twine to bring it all together.   The journalling is about what I have learned from my kids - how they have made me grow in the last 5+ years.   The first ever S.W.A.T challenge made me dig deep and really think about myself.

For the embellishment cluster, I used some Crate Paper pieces mostly as well as a few other random pieces I could find.  The title I cut using my Silhouette and the French script font.

Joyously Jade

Another set of 10 sketches are complete over at ScrapbookSteals as part of their MidWeek Mojo (MWM) sketches.  Above are my 10 completed layouts.  And here is a link to where you can find all of the sketches.

Daddy/Daughter Target Practice

This layout was a challenge for me.  First, I decided to go with an "odd" color scheme for me - grey, black, and orange.  Since we don't celebrate Halloween, it is a color combo I had never done before.  But, the colors went well with the photo, so I tried it.  And since I had recently sorted a lot of my paper by color, it wasn't too hard to find the orange and black papers.

 To make the scallop, I used my Kiwi Lane Design mini scallops (2A and B).  It was pretty easy to cut once I had them drawn.

For the bracket, I used KLD Bracket 3.  I traced it on to some paper from the garbage to get the full shape lined up, and then I used my actual template as a mask for the ink.  I finished it off my stitching around the edge using Twinery Twine (thank Paper Girls for the inspiration).

As for what papers I used, there is some AC baby papers, WP petite papers, NS Dan the Record Man and MLS.  The washi is MME Indie Chic, and the title is a mix NS, Authentique, and cut fromt he Silhouette.

And here is the sketch it is based off of from Brenda's

 blog:

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Fasten It Up - UIT!

Do you have buttons, brads, or eyelets just laying around?  Do you need some motivation to use those hoarded fasteners?  Well, if you do, the new Use It Tuesday challenge is for you!  We are asking you to use some hoarded fasteners and create something.  It can be a card, a layout, or an altered project.  Just be sure to include what hoarded items you used, mention Use It Tuesday in your post, and link up for a chance to be a guest designer and/or get a shout out for being a Top 2 Pick!

I decided to put my hoarded eyelets to work on this card for my brother in law.  His birthday was last week, and I wanted a fun card for him.  I went with the colors yellow and green because he is a HUGE John Deere fan.  And the brown/kraft went well with those.  The papers are Webster's Pages petite papers I got this summer.  I rarely put them to use, but they worked PERFECTLY for this card.  I love the simple yellow chevron and the green on green stripe for this card.  The twine is Twinery - another item in my stash that I should probably pull out more often that I normally do.  And that sentiment - I got this summer and hadn't even touched it!  I actually had forgotten I even had it.

The design is based off of the Practical Scrappers sketch from January:

Embrace Change - Jade 9

This layout kept morphing as I went along.  I knew once I saw the ScrapbookSteals Jade 9 sketch that I wanted to use this picture and my hoarded Authentique Journey papers.  The sunburst was the easy part.  And the twine was a no brainer as well, as the current Paper Girls challenge is to use twine.  But then the photo placement caused problems.  When I tried to use the sunburst rotated the other direction, there wasn't a great place from the title.  So, I rotated it.  Then I thought about the title.  I decided to use some of the sayings from the WordArt Kerys has on her blog for her February challenge.  I thought about cutting out the words with my silhouette, but they were going to be so small that it would be hard to keep them intact  etc.  So, I made a mask of sorts and inked on top.  The smaller ones are still somewhat hard to read, but I kind of like the effect it gives.  All of those phrases are ones I don't want my son to forget!

The photo is from the day my youngest was born.  Although the photo isn't centered, it is one I will cherish for sure!  It looks like a very special time between daddy and son on the day they became out numbered (3 girls to 2 boys).  Since these are the two males in my life, I also though it was a perfect picture (and layout) for the first challenge over at About a Boy - Introducing (your boy).

Hidden journalling

The Sketch

The WordArt

Who will lose and cry UNCLE

So, I decided to try use two sketches for a 2 page layout.  And I think it might have turned out okay :)

The first page I worked on was the right page, using Unscripted Sketches #196.  I often use their sketches for cards, but I wanted to try one as a layout.  And those squares at the bottom I thought would work perfectly for the four smaller photos I had.  With all of the colors in the photos, I decided to use mostly MME FunDay for this layout.  I tried a few other color schemes, but I kept coming back to the primaries with kraft as my favorite.  To make the photos pop, I used some black cardstock for the matting.

When I had the bottom of the page done, I decided the top needed something.  Then I remember this stamp I had that I hadn't touched.  I got the idea from some of the other FunDay papers that have a similar pattern on them.  I stamped them on solid kraft and then colored them some with my Stampin Up water color pencils.

When I went to add something to the left side of the strip, I really liked the big medallion   But, it had something written on it that didn't fit the layout.  So, I covered it up with some more black cardstock and then stuck a star on top.

For the second (left) page, I used the February 1st Paper Secrets sketch.  Since it had a similar strip on it, I thought it would tie in with the right page well.  The "twist" for the sketch this month is chevrons, so I made sure I had enough of those in my layout :)  I decided to add in Kristi B's challenge of dry embossing (on the arrow), mustache (fussy cut from EP Times and Seasons), and pennants (which I already had for the banners).  

And here are both pages today.  I made sure to carry some of the banners across both pages to tie them together.  I think it turned out fairly well!

Here are the sketches:

From PageMaps

Christmas Chaos - MWM Jade 8

Time for another fun layout based on a ScrapbookSteals MWM sketch (Jade 8).

Here is the sketch by the wonderful Kerys!

I pulled out my 12 Days of Christmas 6x6 pad that I recently "stole" and started with the mat for the photos. I loved that I could pull in so many colors using the woven mat, many of which are in the kids' matching pajamas.  But, once I had the mat done, I had to figure out how to finish off the layout.  I wanted to pull in some darker blue from the jammies, so I added a faux pleated strip using Indie Chic 6x6 papers.  Then I went to embellish it using some Nikki Sivilis and Crate Paper pieces as well as some stitching and of course some Thickers.

 If you have never done a Mid-Week Mojo over at ScrapbookSteals, you really should!  The sketches are always so fun, and they draw one random winner each week.  Plus they have a bigger random drawing prize for those that complete all ten sketches in a jewel series.  More information on MWM can be found here.

Super Star - LGS Reveal

It is time for another fun sketch over at Let's Get Sketchy.    This time, the sketch it by Brenshevia:

I decided to pull out a variety of MME papers for this one.  There are pieces of Follow Your Heart, Ooh La La for Him, Indie Chic, Lime Twist, and a TINY bit of Stella and Rose in this layout.  I took a lot of inspiration from the videos over at 2Peas, especially Shimelle's for this one.  

Some close ups for the three embellishment clusters:

I can't wait to see what you create with this sketch!  Remember we select our Top 2 over the weekend, but you have until the end of the month to complete the layouts in order to be eligible for the drawing!