"Show Me" and "Only You"

These two layouts, "Show Me" and "Only You" were inspired by the challenges over at ScrapFIT. 

When I saw Workout #44 over at ScrapFIT, I knew just the photo I wanted to scrap!

Now here is the challenge, and then some close-ups below:

ScrapFIT Workout # 44 - Stand by Your Man ~ We all have at least one man in our lives that we love! So let's dedicate this challenge to him Don't be afraid to think outside the box with this. I am sure your husband/boyfriend, father, and son quickly come to mind but maybe there is another man who is dear to you like Tim Holtz or Brad Pit??? Have fun with this, but be sure to make this a "man's" layout so give it a manly/rough/rugged look and feel.

As much as I like Tim Holtz's paper crafting style, I had to use this older photo of my dad and son sitting on a stump in our yard when we lived in North Carolina.  Joseph is showing his fishing tackle box to grandpa, and Grandpa is showing Joseph his vast knowledge of fishing. I wanted the page to be about that showing and sharing, so I chose the "Show Me" title. My dad spent quite a few of his growing up years in the "Show Me" state of Missouri, so that title has a bit of a double meaning.

One of the things I enjoy doing in my scrapping is to support and point to the story the photo is telling, so rather than journal about the fishing tackle box, I told that part of the story by finding the "f" "fishing" page in an old unabridged dictionary I saved from the trash pile a while back. How fortunate that it had those great sketches of the fish and fish hook in just the right places. "Fisherman" would be covered by the photo, so I trimmed it out, matted it with stamped cork and placed it right on the photo. The darker grey background paper also has fish on it, and I added that bit of fish net above the photo.

To meet the challenge of being a rugged masculine layout, I employed several methods of distressing. I used my Tim Holtz distresser to rough up a lot of my edges, some inked some without ink. I ran some Kraft paper through my crimper, then tore the edges and inked. The dictionary page, tags, and cords for the tags were rubbed with distress ink to give them some age, and the edge of the dictionary page was torn. One of my paper blocks and the banner edges were wet then pushed in to make them wavy, then inked. I pulled some threads out of the edge of my open weave fiber block to fray the edges. As I was cutting out the fabric piece, I noticed the great distressed texture on the salvage edge, so I cut it off and used it below the dictionary page. I used the small section of grey mesh to add some more texture. The photo mat and banner holder were cut with scalloped scissors and pierced before inking, and the scallop mat to the right of the photo was traced and hand cut before inking.

I also met a NSD challenge over at Let's Scrap to use a book page or dictionary text. That is what got me thinking about finding the fishing page in my unabridged.

Let's Scrap NSD Challenge #5 BOOK/DICTIONARY TEXT. My challenge for you is to use book/dictionary text on a layout based on any Let's Scrap sketch. You may use a book/dictionary page as a mat, accent photo corners, anything goes.

Here is the Let's Scrap sketch I drew inspiration from (Yes, I did add a few layers :-):

OK, here are those close-ups I promised:

I scrap-lifted the banner idea along with some design inspiration from the oh so talented Tara Orr. If you aren't familiar with her work, stop on over and be prepared to be inspired. The scalloped banner holder was a scrap of wrinkled cream cardstock I took from the scrap pile to write some notes on. When it was time to make this, I just grabbed that paper, turned it over and cut/pierced/inked/distressed it before glueing on the jute. If it wasn't taped down you could see part of my notes on the back - LOL! The metal flowers between the flags are from my bead stash, the "ribbon" laced through the scalloped punch edge of the paper block is faux leather, and I cross stitched through the twill tape before adhering it to the page. You can see some of the distressing in this shot as well:

This close-up shows what I did with the dictionary page and the selvage edge I cut off my fabric strip:

The tags and cording were bright white before inking, and you can see the crimped/torn/inked kraft paper mats I created for them:

I've also entered this in the following:

Scrapbook Sisters ~ Scrapbook Challenge #3 Flags and Banners - I used flags and banner for the title (June 1)
Crop Suey May Challenge ~ Song and Dance - I used the song title "Show Me" for my title

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Friday, May 27 addition:

This next layout, "Only You," is fun and funky. 

I chose this fun photo to scrap based on ScrapFIT Workout #43 - Only You ~ This challenge is all based on two little words 'Only You' - this is the title for your layout! Since this is a title challenge be sure to include plenty of journaling to back up the reason for the title. We want the juicy details.

When I was searching for photos to use for this challenge, these precious and funny photos jumped out at me, and that they would work best with a fun and light-hearted layout.

I used the sketch from the Bo Bunny Friday Sketch Challenge:

To alter the Bo Bunny Naked Chipboard flourishes, I painted them, then applied random rub-ons. I fussy cut the scalloped circles from Sophie Chic to create the scalloped circle border.

I was inspired by Scrap-Friendzy's May Challenge #4 to use chipboard, rub-ons, 2 photos, and paint.

To create this page I used:

Bo Bunny Papers: Sophie Chic and Tickled Pink; Cambridge; Mama-razzi Word; Paradise Flight

Bo Bunny Mama-razzi cardstock stickers (title)

Bo Bunny Bare Naked Chipboard

Bo Bunny I-Candy gems

Lace ~ stash

Rub-ons ~ stash

Making Memories Paint ~ manila; Glaze ~ sky

Ranger Distress Ink ~ Walnut stain, black soot

Also entered in:

FH2S May Use Your Stash Challenge to use chipboard (June 1)

Thanks for dropping by. I appreciate your comments so much!

~ Blessings ~

"Zoo" Pendous Day

In 2002, we took a trip to New York to visit some friends. We took a drive down to the city to go to the Bronx Zoo. Here is a 2-page layout of our day at the zoo. (Click on photo and then click on photo again to enlarge.)

It's reveal day for this fabulous sketch by Shanon ~ AKA ~ The Scrapping Stamper:

Be sure to drop by her blog to see what her talented DT did with this sketch.

This is also the layout for our May Challenge #9 ~ layered textiles over at Scrap-Friendzy. If you're looking for a great scrapbooking community and loads of fun along with interesting challenges come on over and join us. 

Here are some close-up shots.

I used a net stitch on the scalloped circle frame that I learned from this tutorial by the talented Irene Tan:

I layered burlap, gathered tulle, zebra print fabric, stitching, and braided trim:

I used one large rolled rosette and 7 smaller ones to create this fun flower. I was inspired by the Prima Romani flowers:

Here are some rolled fabric flowers that I snipped to make them fluffy. Changing your fabric strip width and how close you make your snips will change how these come out:

 

To create this LO I used:

Scrap-Friendzy March Kit ~ Spread Your Wings and Fly:

MME Lost and Found ~ Market Street "Adore" Pleated Skirt Paper - 2 sheets

Glitz ~ Hoopla Zebra paper

Black Tulle

Tim Holtz Die Cuts ~ Black Swirls

Webster's Pages ~ Teal Flower Trim

Other:

Green Cardstock ~ stash

White Cardstock (inked for photo mat and journal strips) ~ Stash

Burlap ~ cut from rice bag

Zebra Print Fabric ~ stash

Braid Trim ~ stash

Muslin ~ stash

DMC ~ Embroidery Floss

Zebra Buttons ~ stash

Ranger Distress Inks

Sewing Machine and Hand Stitching

Entered in:

Whimsical Wednesday ~ Back to Basics Challenge ~ No cricut used and old school embellishment - buttons **
"Get Your Glitz On" Challenge #2 ~ Clustering - The Hoopla Zebra Paper was my starting point for this LO. Everything else had to coordinate with this gorgeous paper! I clustered three different items - the three buttons; the layers of textiles: burlap, tulle, zebra print fabric, stitching, and braid trim; and the 7 smaller rolled flowers were clustered around a larger center to make the "daisy" like flower on the upper left side of the layout. **

Thanks for dropping by

~ Blessings ~

Forever Remembered ~ and ~ Time to Fish

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers among my followers.  I hope that you have had a wonderful and blessed day with your families!

I want to say thanks to Lin at Crafty Cardmakers for selecting "Big Catch" in her top 5 out of 90 entries.

I have two layouts to share with you today. 

The first one showcases a photo of my husband's father at the machine shop where he worked for many years.  This shot was taken in 1980 shortly before he retired.  

This photo said steampunk all over it, so I used some Tim Holtz gears and raided my husband's garage stash for the hex nuts and the cotter pin.  I just found and purchased the bracket last week in a bargain bin.  I "aged" the hardware and gears with a few dabs of slate and pitch black alcohol ink.

I used a fabulous layout by Diane55 for the From Here 2 Scrapternity May scraplift challenge:

I also used the Scrap-Friendzy 5-7-11 Challenge by Cheryl by using 11 different papers, 7 screw brads, 5 gears/cotter pin, and 5 hex nuts.

The challenge that had me go looking for a photo of my father-in-law was the Bird Is the Word "Forever" Challenge.  **

To create this page I used:

Papers and scraps ~ Stash

Tim Holtz Idea-Ology ~ Sprocket Gears

Ranger Alcohol Ink ~ Pitch Black and Slate

Ranger Distress Ink ~ Vintage Photo, Black Soot, Walnut Stain, Rusty Hinge

Screw Brads ~ Stash

Rusty Vintage Key ~ From my friend, Kelly

Hardware ~ from my husband's stash and bargain bin

JoAnn Scrap Essentials ~ Black Brads

Delta Creamcoat Acrylic Paint ~ White

Boss Kut Gazelle ~ Title letters

Paper Crimper

I've also entered this layout in:

Crafty Cardmakers: Challenge #45 Steampunk or Machines **

Now on to the second layout I have to share with you.  I created this page of Joseph preparing to go out fishing at Saltfork.  My NSD challenge for the Scrap-Friendzy girlfriendz is to distress something on the layout and use at least three of the following elements: ink, flower, ribbon, stitching, doodling, ink drops or misting, button and/or metal.

I used each of these elements on my layout.  See if you can find them:

Here are a couple close-ups:

The flower is layered with burlap, an inked book page cut-out, pattern paper cut out and button all tied together with jute.  I tried to keep it masculine.  

I cross stitched through the layers of ribbon before adhering to the page.

I wanted something to soften the border below the clock, and this rusty screen worked perfectly.
The ink splots were created by releasing drops of Walnut Ink about 12 inches or so above the paper.  When the ink drops hit the kraft paper they made a neat splot design, on the Basic Grey paper more of a round circle.

In addition to my Scrap-Friendzy DT challenge this layout is for the Let's Scrap NSD Challenge #2 by Rachelle to use "Time" in the title.

I used the gorgeous 7-14-10 Left Side Sketch by Cheri O'Neill.  I turned the sketch 180, used one photo, and placed the title where the second photo had been:

Susie over at From Here 2 Scrapternity issued a great NSD Challenge to alter your borders to make them more visible.  I used black ink to edge the scalloped borders to help them stand out against the background pp.

To create this layout I used:

Tidbitz in Time June Kit:

Basic Grey Papers ~ Origins

Add-ons:

Kraft Paper ~ Stash

Black CS ~ Stash

Distress Ink ~ Frayed Burlap, Black Soot

Tsukineko Walnut Ink

Stitching

Acid Free Marker

DMC Cotton Thread

Tim Holtz Idea-ology ~ Timepieces Clock Faces

Tim Holtz Idea-ology ~ Game Spinners

Rusty Screen ~ Stash

Brown Ribbon ~ Stash

Burlap, Book Page, Button, Jute ~ Stash

JoAnn Essentials ~ Brown Brads

Boss Kut Gazelle ~ Title Letters

Tim Holtz ~ Distress Tool

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment! 

~ Blessings ~

The Lord Is My Song

Elizabeth bought a guitar in January.  The instruction CD wasn't as helpful as she had hoped, so she is getting lessons from a friend. She has learned a lot and enjoys playing.

This page is done mostly with paper and Embellishments from the March Scrap-Friendzy Spread Your Wings and Fly Kit.

I have created a challenge for the members of Scrap-Friendzy to alter chipboard/grungeboard/grungepaper for a layout, and here is my example layout with Elizabeth playing her new guitar on Easter day.

I used soft pastel colors for ScrapFIT Weekend Warm-Up #4.

I've altered the grungepaper birdcage by using the drunken Scotch technique.  I didn't have any clear Scotch glue, so I used Ranger Inkssentials Matte Accents instead.  Here are some samples of this technique done with other types of glue ~ they don't all work the same and some don't work all that well.  I've also opened up the birdcage and curled up the bars to let the bird escape.  After all, the bird needs to Spread its Wings and Fly.  I backed the cage with a contrasting paper and shaded one side of the bars with pumice stone distress ink.

For the bird, I painted the grungepaper chocolate, topped with crackle medium until tacky, but not dry, then painted again with manilla paint. As the top coat of paint dried, it cracked showing hints of the base coat.  To give added dimension, I inked around the edges of the wing and bird.

To create this layout I used:

Kit items

Bazzill Cardstock ~ Navajo

My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Market Street "Adore" Fly Away Paper

Rup-on Stars ~ Dasyd's Adorable

Tim Holtz Birdcage Die Cut ~ Grungepaper

Tim Holtz Bird Die Cut ~ Grungepaper

Tim Holtz Elegant Flourishes Die Cut ~ Back Glitter Sheet

Webster's Pages Bloomers Strip - Turquoise 

Add-ons

My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Market Street "Princess" Lovely Lady Paper

Ranger Stickles ~ Christmas Red, Midnight Black

Scrap of Black Card Stock for letters

My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Portobello Road "Family" Brocade Paper

Bling ~ from my stash

Ranger Distress Ink ~ Victorian Velvet, Worn Lipstick, Pumice Stone

Inkssentials Matte Accents

Ranger Alcohol Ink ~ Rust, Espresso

Delta Ceramcoat Painter's Helper Crackle

Making Memories Scrapbook Colors ~ Manilla, Chocolate

Bosskut Gazelle

Brody Font from the Internet

I drew inspiration from Amy's fabulous kit layout. Thanks Amy!

My apologies to grammar gurus out there.  I had a brain freeze moment and will be correcting the capitalization in the title before adding this layout to my book.  :-)

Thanks for stopping by.  I enjoy reading your comments!

~ Blessings ~

Family ~ Showers of Blessings ~ ScrapFIT Workout #41/MME Blog Challenge #

I have combined 2 challenges for this LO. 

I have entered the My Minds Eye Blog Challenge #22 using their  wonderful  sketch and the theme April Showers.

I also entered ScrapFIT Workout #41 - Stop and See the Flowers, where the challenge is to use homemade flowers on a layout.  I was so excited to see this challenge since I enjoy making flowers.

Be sure to stop by both of these wonderful blogs to see the fabulous work by their design teams and the entries that have been submitted.

I have to give a plug here for Scrap-Friendzy ~ April Challenge #1 is Spring Flowers. If you're looking for loads of wonderful challenges, a fabulous community of scrapbookers and paper crafters, and a chance to earn and accumulate points each month for a fabulous prize stop on over and join.  I'm so glad I did!

This is an older photo taken in 1992 when we lived in North Carolina.  One of the perks of living in an older home included the gorgeous, established trees and plants. A favorite of mine was the wonderful pink dogwood.  When I came across this photo, I thought it would be fun to create a dogwood tree on the layout.  I drew and cut the tree and created 30 blossoms to embellish.  These papers from My Mind's Eye were so perfect for the effect I wanted for this page.

I made each of the dogwood blossoms by taking a small scrap of white cardstock, and cutting the petals on my Gazelle.  I inked each petal and used a shaping tool to mark veins.  Each of the four petals was curled to shape and glued to a small cardstock circle.  Once dry, I put a drop of Glossy Accents in the center of each and covered with gold microbeads.   I was thrilled at how realistic these flowers turned out.  Blossoms need branches!  The color and texture of this MME paper was exactly what I needed to create the tree to hang my blossoms on.

Here's a close-up:

Here is the beautiful sketch for the challenge:

I used the tree trunk in place of the vertical paper strips and put a border punch on my photo mat instead of the separate strips in the sketch and of course I use the dogwood flowers for the diecut element and way more than two.  :-)

To create this layout I used:

My Mind's Eye Papers:

    Focal paper ~ Bella Bella - "Bellezo" French Botique

    Photo mat ~ Bella Bella - "French Flea Market"

    Tree trunk/stems, title/phrase ~ Lost & Found - Union Square "Moments" 

        Seamstress 

Scrap of white cardstock

Martha Steward Microbeads ~ gold

Ribbon and gems from my stash

Tools:

Glossy Accents

Distress Inks ~ Walnut stain, worn lipstick, victorian velvet, fired brick

EK Success ~ 3/8 in. Ribbon Border Punch

Bosskut Gazelle

Dogwood cutting file - I used only the 4 flower petals ~ you can visit Cozycomfycouch for the free download.

I've also entered this LO in the following:

Allsorts Challenge Week 100 ~ April Showers (Showers of Blessings) **

Crafty Calendar ~ April Showers Bring May Flowers **

Shannon's Sentiments DT Challenge #23 ~ Anything but a card **

Lexi's Creations Challenge #38~ Anything but a card **

Thanks for dropping by!

~ Blessings ~