One Small Miracle

This is a precious photo of Justin with his dad.  When I saw the photo I knew right away that these K and Company papers would be perfect for it.

I used this wonderful Let's Scrap 12-29-10 Sketch by Cheri O'Neil as inspiration.  This paper has the linear lines in the sketch and I used a scalloped oval around the photo:

Justin had a close relationship with his dad and I had to include the quote by Jim Volvano.

To meet Scrap UR Stash Challenge #4 to use 3 pieces of naked chipboard (I used 6 pieces to make these), I created these lovely sunflowers from chipboard coated with Ranger Perfect Pearls, and Ranger Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel.  The shiny texture goes with the embossing on the paper.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

~ BLESSINGS ~

Merry Christmas

Wishing each of you a blessed and joy-filled Christmas celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior.

Christmas Stockings ~ ScrapFit Christmas Tradition Challenge and Bo Bunny Layout Challenge Friday

I was so excited to see the ScrapFit challenge to create a layout about a Christmas Tradition. Our family has hung and filled stockings every Christmas for 28 years and counting. My family didn't do stockings growing up, but it was an important tradition in my DH's family. So important that my MIL, Vicky, hand crafted these gorgeous stockings for each of us.  Gary really likes this page!  If you would like to see some of the details more closely, just click on the photo and click again to get a nice close-up look.

I used these gorgeous Bo Bunny papers from the Noel collection using the Bo Bunny Layout Friday Challenge Sketch:

Noel Cheer - Red patterned background block and frame around photo - both stitched and distressed

Noel Joy - Green patterned circle - edges punched with Martha Stewart Rain Drops  Corner Punch and glittered

Noel Ornaments - Fussy cut around ornaments and pine boughs and used gold Stickles on the bulbs with edges stitched and distressed.

Noel Rejoice - Background paper and fussy cut Twas the Night Before Christmas and added green pearl accents.  Title lettering cut from back of this paper on my Gazelle and inked with white ink, then topped with Star Dust Stickles.

I used walnut ink to stain some lace from my stash to go below the photo.

Thanks to the ScrapURStash Challenge #12 at Scrap-Friendzy - I used the punch and my Gazelle in creating this LO.

The technique to use a corner punch around a cut out circle came from one of my favorite scrap artists, Lisa Nazario-Gregory.  Here is her video tutorial.  What a fabulous and gorgeous way to get extra miles out of those corner punches.

Thanks so much for stopping by to take a look.

Wishing each of you a blessed and joyful Christmas.

~ BLESSINGS ~

Justin at the Canfield Fair ~ Let's Scrap DT Challenge #80

I just love how Justin has his arms outstretched, embracing life, in so many of the photographs of him.  This one was taken at the Canfield Fair. 

The DT Challenge at Let's Scrap was to used stamps in the layout, and I also had a challenge over at Scrap-Friendzy for Scrap UR Stash #10 to use foam stamps with paint, so this is for both challenges. 

Here is the wonderful Let's Scrap Sketch from Sept. 9, 2009 that I used for inspiration:

 

The foam stamps came from a drawing at a crop I attended a couple years back.  I embellished the stamped flowers with some stick-on pearls I just happened to have in my stash that matched the paint. 

  

I used a Bazill In Stitch'z template for my stitching. I traced the large scallop edge and cut it out by hand.  I keep a variety of papers with designed edges that I can trace and cut on whatever paper matches the layout I am doing.  The circle border was cut with a file from the fabulous designs created by Monica Björk.  She has a ton of gorgeous free cutting files in a variety of file types.  I placed the circle scallop on a neutral cardstock and cut around the edge with my scissors.

Thanks so much for stopping by to look.

~ Blessings ~

Flurrious Fun ~ MCS December Big Sketch Submission

Here are Joseph and Grace sledding on the huge hill at the East Canton Driving Range the first winter we moved back to Ohio.  There wasn't much snow when we lived in North Carolina, so this was a real treat for them - back then. 

 

Here is the sketch for the

My Creative Scrapbook December challenge:

I had fun learning some new techniques to put this layout together. 

The Scrap-Friendzy - Scrap UR Stash Challenge #3 was to use plain white cardstock on a layout.  I used Distress Ink with Tim Holtz techniques to create the textured blue paper from good old white cardstock, and topped it with a background stamp and white ink to look like falling snow.  I then scalloped, distressed, and inked the edges, as well as machine stitched around the border.  I also used my trial scrap piece to cut the title letters on my Gazelle. It's great to use up those scraps!

Thanks Cheryl for choosing this layout as the Scrap-Friendzy Pick of the Day! 

To keep with the winter theme, I found a photo of winter berries covered in ice.  I sketched the berries onto red cardstock, inked in some details, covered them with glossy accents and microbeads.  I also used the sketch as a guide to sketch out the thorned stem to place the berries on.  I also used some of the berries right on my photos below the jute bows. 

 

The poinsettia flowers started out white.  To add dimension I brushed them with red and black chalk, inked the edges in a darker shade of red, then topped the brads with some burgundy Stickles.  The green on the leaves was too light, so I chalked them as well.

The "stitching" around the red square is actually hand drawn and accented with holes punched with a pin.  Here is a tutorial on the Bo Bunny site by the talented Romy, their December guest design team member.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Blessings ~

Cool 16 - ScrapFit #33 Challenge

Maria has decided that she doesn't like to have her picture taken, so this was the best that I had from her 16th birthday party.  It is actually quite a fun photo that shows her quirky personality.  

ScrapFit Challenge #33 is to find inspiration in this wonderful retro Slinky ad:

My inspiration is the fabulous retro feel.  With the photo I was scrapping, I decided to go with a 60's retro feel, and notice the "Slinky" effect I got by coiling teal wire and putting the "cool" "16" on either end of it like the toys in the Slinky ad.  I also enjoyed using the vintage buttons from my MIL's button stash that are from the 60's era as flower centers.  These great 60's rub-ons were also lurking in my stash.  This was a great challenge that got me out of my box to try a different style than I typically use.   

 Here's a close up of the "Slinky" feature"

And of the journal box and rub-ons:

I was also thrilled to find a great 60's dingbat file to cut the journal boxes on my Gazelle and used Bell Bottom Laser for my font.  Here's a hint if you use dingbats for cutting files.  I have created a Word file with every letter, upper and lower, and every key stroke.  I highlight it all then select the dingbat as the font, and put it in a large font size to be able to see all the options.  When I see a ding image I want to use, I highlight it then select a normal font.  That will tell me what letter I need to use to get the  desired image.  I copy and paste that word document for each of my ding files which I keep organized in folders.

Scrap-Friendzy's Scrap UR Stash Challenge #9 is my inspiration to use the great vintage buttons.

My sketch inspiration came from the talented sketch artist, Ingeborg Dijkstra-Verbeek:

~ BLESSINGS ~

Zoo-Gether for Challenge #78 at Let's Scrap

This layout is done around a precious older photo of Gary holding up Elizabeth to see animals at the zoo.

I also entered this in the gallery at Scrap-Friendzy for a Scraplift challenge and it was selected as the Pick of the Day. 

The challenge at Let's Scrap was to create home made flowers.  I made these flowers based on a tutorial from one of my favorite scrap artists - Gabrielle Pollacco. 

I used the Let's Scrap 5-5-10 left side sketch for my inspiration.

 

Here is a close up of the larger flowers in top corner of the layout.  The leaves were cut on my Gazelle from a dingbat file, then inked. 

 These are the smaller flowers from the bottom corner.

And this is a close up of the title and circle of rhinestones.  I made a template for the rhinestone circle on my Gazelle and adhered them with my i-rock stetting tool.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look.  Please leave a comment to let me know what you think.

~ BLESSINGS ~

Sister Friends Fixed

I really enjoyed scrapping these older photos of Grace and Elizabeth at Memorial Garden in North Carolina.  They are just so precious.  I "finished" up this layout Thanksgiving morning in order to enter it in the Bo Bunny Sketch Challenge, but I wasn't thrilled with the way the title came out, so I did a retake on it:

Here is a close-up of the flowers I created:

 

If anyone would like a tutorial on the flowers or leaves, leave a comment and I will be glad to post one.

And here is a close-up of the woven circle stitching and tulips I created.  I have included free templates for both the stitching guide and tulip pieces you can download at the end of this post.

 

Tulip Template:

Woven Circle Stitching Template:

To download full at full resolution, click on image, then click on image again.  Right click and select "Save Image As . . ." to bring up the window asking where to save it on your computer ~ enjoy!

~ BLESSINGS ~

Sister Friends Bo Bunny Layout Challenge Friday Entry

I created this layout for Bo Bunny Layout Challenge Friday using a beautiful sketch by Sketchabilities:

I enjoyed using these older photos of Grace and Elizabeth.  They were taken at Memorial Garden from when we lived in North Carolina. 

 

I used:

-Bo Bunny Love Shack Baby, Love Shack Party, Love Shack Shake, and Orange Citrus Dot papers

-Bo Bunny ICandy Jewels

-Bo Bunny ribbon

I drew inspiration from Mich's fabulous layout featured in Scrap-Friendzy's Scraplift "This" or "That" Challenge #7.  I love the circles and stitching she used, so instead of stitching on the circles, I created a woven circle around the photos by hand stitching with 2 strands of embroidery floss using a template that I created for this layout.  I have uploaded the file at the end of this post in a PNG format that can be sized for your particular layout.  

Then in place of the circles, I found a tulip design that I liked and created a template used to hand cut the flower pieces which were then inked and pieced together.  

Mich's layout:

I tried out a new flower design by cutting three nine petal flowers and stamens with my Gazelle.  Using water distressing, I crumpled the flower petals and when dried shaped them, then added the stamens topped by an ICandy Jewel.  I hope to shoot some close-ups of these and post them tomorrow.

To download full at full resolution, click on image, then click on image again.  Right click and select "Save Image As . . ." to bring up the window asking where to save it on your computer ~ enjoy!

~ BLESSINGS ~

Happy Thanksgiving!

Praying that each of you have a blessed Thanksgiving.  I am thankful for a wonderful family and the opportunity to gather with my husband's extended family this afternoon.

~ BLESSINGS ~

A Wonderful Day

Today has been a wonderful day.  First of all I got to go out to Amish country shopping with my good friend, Lonnie.  We had such a lovely time!  We started the day with my first visit to P. Graham Dunn, a company that manufactures and sells Christian home decor.  They make amazing things - if only I could afford it all - lol!  Then we went over to Lehman's Hardware, which sells anything you can imagine for simple (or not so simple) living.  Everything from seeds and garden tools, to tractors ,to kitchen wares ,to kerosene lamps, and old fashioned toys.  Quite a place. 

When I got home, I discovered that the design team over at ScrapFit had chosen my Barrel of Laughs layout as the winner of their shape and color challenge.  

Then, I went over to Scrap-Friendzy to discover that my Surprised page had been selected as the Pick of the Day by the talented and very sweet Judy.  I guess the time spent in my re-do on that page was worth it.  (Even if it had not been selected for anything - I am pleased with the way it turned out.)

What an honor to be recognized by both of these wonderful sites.

~ BLESSINGS ~

Bo Bunny Something from Nature Card Challenge

Here is my first attempt at creating a card.  I made it for the Nature Card Challenge at Bo Bunny.

I used Bo Bunny's fabulous Noel Cheer paper for this card.  The tree and gold swirl/star blocks were heat embossed on coordinating green card stock, and my item from nature is the bundle of pine needles tied with twine.   I picked them up at a Georgia rest stop on our vacation earlier this year to use for my scrapbooking and thought they would be perfect on this card.

~ BLESSINGS ~

Surprised Before and After

Grace found some older photos in her closet a couple weeks ago, and these gems were in the stash.  I just had to scrap Mom's reaction as we revealed her Christmas gift!

Have you ever created a LO that you feel fell flat?  That's what happened to me with this LO, and here is what I came up with on try number two using the number challenge (#32) over at ScrapFIT, the Scraplift "This" or "That" Challenge #3 at Scrap- Friendzy, and a stunning sketch by Ingeborg Dijkstra-Verbeek.  (My first stab is in the previous post.)

See what you think.  I am much happier with the new LO!  Crazy me to do it all over again.  :-)

ScrapFIT number challenge:
1 piece of cardstock - black to mat the photo and journal box 
2 types of alpha's - Title and journaling use different fonts 
3 different embellies - Flower with rhinestone swirls, Rhinestone Dragonfly, and nearly 40 rhinestones adhered to the punched borders and flower. 
4 patterened papers - Green, blue, flowered, and striped. 
5 pictures - 4 photos of my mom and her new cat in the center and another of Coco at the bottom left.

Here is the LO I used for the lift from Scrap-Friendzy by the very talented Cheryl:

I like how Cheryl made the thin punched border across the page and then the partial thicker one below.  I adore the circle distressed flower.  I also water distressed and scrunched the one I created.  Thanks for the inspiration, Cheryl!

Ingborg's Sketch:

I tried something new in making the pleated paper around the bracket frame cut paper.  I appreciate the inspiration from the oh so talented Michelle Van Wyk.  As  soon as I saw this technique on one of her layouts, I knew I had to try it and really like the way it turned out!

~ BLESSINGS ~

Surprised

This is a page that I threw together this afternoon for the Hippity Hop Blog Hop.

For Christmas in 2000, we gave Mom Coco, a Maine Coon Cat, and this is her reaction.

For the hop I used
Sassy Sketch's beautiful Sketch
Scrapfit - three items are the flowers
Crop Suey and Cuttle Bug - I mixed water color paint into flexible texture paste and applied over mesh to add both color and texture at the bottom of the page.
Scrap Tiffany - I used blue lace over the red paper lace that I fussy cut from coordinating paper.

The fish at the top were fussy cut from coordinating paper as well.

I made a couple of minor changes and got them done before the deadline.  I added some cording at the top with the fish and grouped the flowers together.  Boy, I wish I had more time on this one.  LOL  :-)

Sorry about the photo quality.  I took it after dark with a flash.  I'll take it again in the morning with natural sunlight.

~ BLESSINGS ~

Barrel of Fun - Scrapfit Color and Shape Challenge #31/Scrap-Friendzy Inspiration Challenge #5

I love this older photo of Joseph balancing on a barrel and wanted to keep the page fun.  I really enjoyed the challenge given by Scrapfit to use shapes not normally used in scrapping.  To embrace this challenge I cut hexagons and octagons, inked the edges and then pieced them into the fun border and flowers, and if you look closely, the background paper has a honeycomb design in it as well.  I freehand cut the flower stems and found the fun stone octagon shape for the journaling.  I also enjoyed using Brandi's quirky and fun LO from Scrap-Friendzy as inspiration.

~ BLESSINGS ~

Justin - First Day of School

Scrap-Friendzy keeps me hopping with their wonderful challenges.  November's challenges involve scraplifting.  This layout of Justin's first day at Carroll Hills School is for scraplift #1.

~ BLESSINGS~

Pick of the Day

Over at Scrap-Friendzy this layout of Justin was selected by one of the design team members as her Pick of the Day - Thanks Jean!  I am so honored!

This is Justin at the Butterfly House holding a butterfly.

Here are a couple close-ups of some details on this page.

Fabric flower created from a vintage scarf and the other flowers colored with chalk and Stickles, leaves fussy cut from coordinating paper

Butterflies fussy cut from matching paper and brushed with Stickles

Hand-cut and inked scallop with ribbon and rhinestone border

~ BLESSINGS ~

Cotton Candy Girl - BoBunny: Layout Challenge Friday

Here is a layout I created of my niece, Abby, for the BoBunny Layout Challenge Friday.
(Click on the photo and then click again to enlarge to see details.)

One of the things I enjoy about BoBunny products is that they can easily be mixed and matched between lines.  For this layout I used:
BoBunny paper: Mama-Razzi Word; Paradise Batik; Paradise Pier; Delilah You and Me
Cardstock - dark blue
Blue swirl - BoBunny Chunky Charms - Clear Swirls & Brackets - Alcohol inked with Ranger denim and latte, then backed with Paradise Pier paper.
Gemstone Swirls - One large swirl from Recollections (Michaels) cut into smaller pieces
Flowers and leaves punched from BoBunny paper, inked, wet and crinkled, dried, then finished off with BoBunny iCandy Jewels in the center.
Rhinestones in the ribbon scallop BoBunnyiCandy Jewels
Scalloped ribbon and lace from local craft stores
Inking - Versa Magic Jumbo Java chalk ink
Distressing - Tim Holtz distress tool
Stitching - done on my sewing machine with Guttermann 554 thread

Close-Up of flowers

Swirl Close-Up

~ BLESSINGS ~

More Justin Layouts

It is sketch month over at Scrap Friendzy.  Here are some more layouts I have done this week for Justin using the challenge sketches.

Here is one of Justin playing basketball for the Carroll Hills Cougars.

This is of Justin with his grandmothers.

Justin was a big Pittsburgh Steelers Fan.

~ BLESSINGS ~