July at Scrap-Friendzy

Come on over and join the Scrap-Friendzy fun in July. The Design Team Girlz have a month of scraplift challenges with a twist waiting for you each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The Girlfriend with the most Friendz Pointz at the end of July will win a prize. It's a surprise, but trust me it will be full of wonderful scrappy goodies. If you're looking for a place with a fun supportive community of on-line scrappers and paper crafters, this is a place you'll enjoy.

See you there!

~ Blessings ~

Three Time UKC Champions/Perfect Summer Day

Those of you familiar with our family know that our girls are involved in United Kennel Club obedience with their dogs. We got back last week from the UKC National Invitational where Maria and her Australian Shepherd, Tori participated in the National Junior Top 10 Obedience invitational. They captured 1st place honors for the third year in a row. Here is the page I created for this accomplishment:

Here is a close-up of the flower that I created using the patterned paper 

I trimmed out from behind the other layers and a scrap of black cardstock. 

I cut a flourish into three pieces to spread out around the flower 

(and still have some left for another project):

For the embellishment cluster, I used one of my new Jenni Bowlin 

buttons. Normally I use vintage buttons from my stash, 

but these were so pretty, I had to have them. 

The medallion behind the button was stamped with a 

MME stamp in black on white cardstock and 

certain areas colored in with red marker:

I created this layout for the Tic Tac Toe challenge at From Here 2 Scrapternity First Summer Crop using Flowers, Red, One Large Photo, and Paint (on the brad - it just wasn't quite the right color, so I painted it black and rubbed off a bit so the bronze paint underneath would show through just a little). 

I also had in mind the Frosted Designs Fabulous Friday Challenge! Black & White + 1! The challenge is to create a LO or card using b/w plus one other color - red for this layout.

Techniques/Tips:

When using a sewing machine on your page, use a small diameter needle designed for lingerie, and use a stitch length that does not put the stitches too close together, so your paper does not perforate and tear. For this layout, I stitched on the red paper before adhering to the black backing paper. You can stitch through multiple pages as well. 

Prepackaged rhinestone flourishes can be cut apart and to spread out and sometimes there is enough to use on multiple projects. 

If a piece of ribbon is not quite the right color, you can dab a bit of distress ink onto the ribbon to alter the color. The red ribbon in the cluster was too light and bright, so I used a paint brush to add some pumice stone distress ink to tone it down a bit. 

Paper punched flowers can be spritzed with water and crumpled to add a more realistic texture to your paper flowers. Just be sure they are completely dry before opening them up because damp paper tears easily. They can air dry over night, or with a heat tool if you need them faster. 

Products used to create this layout:

Papers:

Basic Grey Boxer ~ Long Underwear

Basic Grey Granola ~ Brown Sugar

Imaginisce To Love & Cherish ~ Diana

K&Company ~ Love's Journey pad

Paper Pizazz ~ Black/Gray Stripe

DCWV from stash

Black Cardstock ~ scrap

White Cardstock ~ scrap

Other:

Tim Holtz Idea-ology ~ Muse Token, Excellence

Jenni Bowlin Studio ~ Vintage Style Buttons, Black

Want 2 Scrap Bling ~ black rhinestone flourish

Queen & Company Pearls ~ Classy Red

Marvy le Plume Marker ~ #65 Cherry

Tombo NIS Marker ~ Black

Ranger Distress Ink ~ Black Soot, Pumice Stone

DecoArt Crafter Acrylic Paint ~ Black

Ribbons in Red/Black/Gold ~ Stash

Black linked crystals ~ stash

DMC Embroidery Floss ~ stash

Tools:

My Mind's Eye ~ Stella Rose stamp

Martha Stewart Punch ~ Cornflower

EK Success XLarge Punch ~ Daisy Flower

EK Success Edger Punch ~ Dotted Wave

Tim Holtz ~ Distress Tool

Sewing Machine & Thread

Gazelle to cut title

Perfect Summer Day:

This next layout is of my niece relaxing by the lake at my parents' home last Labor Day with her dog, Nitro.

Here is a close up of some of the journaling around the cutout photo mat circle:

I created this layout for the From Here 2 Scrapternity First Summer Crop Journaling Challenge to use the title "Perfect Summer Day" and use at least 10 words of journaling. I also had in mind the Scrap-Friendzy Day at the Spa Challenge #13 to create a layout having anything to do with water when I selected this photo by the lake. I used this lovely sketch from City Crafter Challenge Blog Week #63 (CCCB#63):

Techniques/Tips:

I enjoy using Ranger Alcohol Inks. They can be used to alter the color of metal, glass, plastic - any hard surface item you use in scrapping. 

On this page, I altered the clear glass pebbles which can be found in the floral department of most craft stores. To alter small items like this, place the object(s) in a zip baggie with a few drops of alcohol ink and swish them around. In seconds you have colored objects you can use on your projects. If you don't have the exact color you want, you can try mixing two or more colors to get the color you desire.

For larger items like the die cut sun, swirl, and hello brad, I used the Ranger alcohol ink applicator and felt pad. (You can use a block of wood with a strip of velcro and cut felt sheets or felt by the yard to size.) Just squeeze a few drops of alcohol ink into the felt in whatever color combination you like and dab onto your surface.  The more you dab, the smaller the ink splotches become, so you can get a lot of different looks depending on the colors you choose and the amount of dabbing you do. 

The wonderful think about alcohol ink is that if you don't like it, wipe your surface off with some blending solution and you have a clean slate to try again. The other nice thing about alcohol ink is that it dries so fast you can use your altered supplies right away.

Alcohol ink does stain, so be sure to work on a craft mat, glass, or throw away surface like wax paper or aluminum foil. You might also want to wear rubber gloves, unless you don't mind ink stained fingers. 

Products used to create this layout:

Paper:

Basic Grey Wander ~ Lost Luggage

Basic Grey Wander ~ GPS

Basic Grey Hello Luscious ~ Dazzling

Basic Grey Lime Rickey ~ Rob Roy

Black Cardstock ~ Stash

Other:

Ranger Alcohol Ink ~ Sunshine Yellow, Sunset Orange, Caramel

Clear Gems ~ from floral department

Reflections ~ Rhinestone stickers

EK Success Fastenater ~ Basic Shapes

Around the Block ~ Flair Big Metal Brads

Versa Magic Chalk Ink ~ Midnight Black

Tombo Marker #346

Zig Millenium 05 ~ Pure Black

Blue Rhinestone from stash

Tools:

QuicKutz ~ Sunshine Alphabet Dies

QuicKutz ~ Revolution 

Gazelle to cut scalloped circle and title

Thanks for stopping by. I enjoy reading your comments!

~ Blessings ~

Lessons from Grandpa

My husband's father treasured the time he had with his grandchildren. Here is a shot of him teaching Joseph to golf at the tender age of four. He went to be with the Lord in 2000, but left a legacy of love and devotion to his family.

One of the Spa Challenges at Scrap-Friendzy is to scrap a man/men in your life. The blue in our son's shirt represents blue for boys. If you are looking for some fun challenges to spark your scrapping creativity, come check out the 19 fabulous challenges that have been posted by the Scrap-Friendzy DT this month. Each completed layout puts your name in the hat for a fabulous prize each month.

I used the Bo Bunny Sketch for their challenge. For the Scrapbook Sister's Challenge # 4 ~ men, my subject is our son and my father-in-law together, and my interpretation on the ScrapFIT "School's Out" challenge was the title "Lessons" from Grandpa. 

Here is my page:

Based on this wonderful Bo Bunny Sketch:

Here is a close-up of the layered circles. I had some extra time on my hands at the UKC dog show last week, so I picked up some bamboo crochet thread to create these lace flowers that I layered on the Bo Bunny paper circles, and attached with Timepiece brads. The lace flowers were dyed with distress ink to coordinate with the paper.

Tips:

~ When cutting lace, place a dab of Glossy Accents on the line where you will be cutting and rub in. This will keep the edge from fraying. 

~ To dye my bright white lace flowers, I rubbed distress ink on my craft mat, spritzed with some water, then rubbed the flowers through the misted ink. I let them air dry and pressed lightly so they would lay nicely.

~ When layering I cut out the middle of the pages, so the nearly black paper sheet that is the base is actually only a 1 inch frame. I used the scrap to create the largest circle on my layered embellishments and for the outer circle around the title. I still have a nice piece left for my stash. The main title circle is cut from the center of the Timepiece Dot paper.

~ To create the stitching line, I pierced holes in the paper every eighth of an inch using my craft ruler as a guide. I then went back and drew a white line between each hole using a white Jelly Roll pen. You may need to go over the lines a couple times to get a nice white line.

Products used for this layout:

Bo Bunny paper:

Timepiece Dot

Gabrielle Dot

Mama-razzi Film

Mama-razzi Stripe

Beautiful Life Leaf

Double Dot Licorice

Timepiece brads

Timepiece trinkets

Distress inks ~ Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo, Black Soot, Corduroy, Pumice Stone

VersaMagic Chalk Ink ~ Midnight Black

Hand crafted (by me) lace flowers ~ crocheted from bamboo crochet thread

Lace from my stash

White Jelly Roll Pen 

Tools:

Circle Punches

Fiskar Circle Cutter

EK Success Braid Edger Punch

Piercing Tool

Tim Holtz Distress Tool

Cutterbee Scissors

Thanks for stopping by. I enjoy reading your comments.

~ Blessings ~

Amazing Fun in the Sun ~ The Scraping Stamper Sketch Reveal

When I saw Shannon's fabulous sketch for June, I knew I had to use this older photo of Maria and her friend. The reflection of them playing in the sand just makes this photo all the more precious.

Here is my take on the June Scraping Stamper Sketch:

I enjoy the work of Irene Tan and lifted her technique of masking around a design and adding a design element at the edge of the mask. I cut a larger sun "shadow", rubbed Stormy Sky distress ink over the edges, then hand stitched around the sun at the mask edge:

To create the waves, I stitched shell buttons in a wave shape with eyelash fiber, then pressed a length of metallic ricrac into a wave shape before attaching. Without pressing, it did not want to lay nice and flat.

Here is Shannon's fabulous sketch:

I also stamped tone on tone across the bottom and right side of the page to add extra dimension, using several different grungy stamps from my collection.

Be sure to stop by Shannon's blog and see all the wonderful layouts by her DT.

To create this layout I used:

Bo Bunny ~ Block Party Paper

Bo Bunny ~ Sunkissed Party Paper

Bo Bunny ~ Paradise Lingo Paper

Ranger Distress Ink ~ Faded Jeans, Stormy Sky, Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge

Inque Botique ~ Botique Grunge Stamps

DMC Floss ~ #322

From My Stash ~ eyelash fiber, shell buttons, blue metallic ric-rac

Fonts ~ Tiki Island from internet, Beach Island from internet

Gazelle to cut title

This layout has been entered in:

Bird is the Word ~ Amazing challenge (July 5)
Crop Suey June Challenge ~ Summer (July 1)

Thanks for stopping by. I enjoy reading your comments!

~ Blessings ~

Little Angler

This is such a precious photo of Maria taken a few years back. She is fishing at Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler's house. She is so proud of this wee little fish - just the perfect size for her!

This is another layout using the Scrap~Friendzy "Seaside Cottage" June Kit. There's only one left, so if you like what you see, be sure to grab it. Go here for a photo and list of the gorgeous contents as well as purchasing details. If you missed my other layouts and card from this kit, you can view them here.

Here is a close-up of the scalloped circle. I added some mini pearls between each scallop and inked lightly with Pumice Stone Distress ink. I hand stitched around the inner circle which I had distressed and inked. The buttons are from the kit. I had fun layering, distressing, and hand stitching the photo mat as well. 

I have to say this too. Don't be afraid to embrace your mistakes. I had already attached my photo to the brown dot paper when I decided that I wanted to ink the distressed edges. I thought the mat was wide enough. No problem, well . . . I did get a bit of ink on the photo edge. Rather than reprinting my photo, I decided to try inking all the way around the photo, and as you can see, decided to go with it. Sometimes our mistakes can have lovely and happy endings!

Here is a close-up of the flowers and shells. It is hard to see in the first photo, but I painted diamond stickles on the Prima flowers to add a bit of glittery bling. The jute that came in the kit is so soft and pliable, not like normal jute. I was playing with it and tied this bow first thing. I liked it so much, there was no need to experiment any further. The kit comes with shells, but since mine was shipped out early, it had no seashells. Not a problem, however, I have a little stash of seashells I found on our last trip to the gulf coast of Florida. These little shells and fragments were the perfect colors to go on this layout. The paper "shell" peaking out from under the burlap was fussy cut from a scrap of Gabrielle Unwritten. The light creamy color of the burlap is so perfect with this paper. 

Techniques:

I discovered a new way to create the scalloped circle border that makes it easier to get the corner punched scallops evenly spaced using a template I created. If anyone is interested, please let me know, and I will create a photo tutorial and make the templates available for you to download. 

The stitching was done by piercing holes with the In-Stich'z piercing tool and my Tim Holtz Ruler. If you haven't seen the Tim Holtz ruler with holes every eighth inch, it's great to use as a guide to pierce stitching holes. The piercing tool fits perfectly through the holes in the ruler. 

Supplies used in creating this layout:

Kit:

Bo Bunny ~ Gabrielle Dot/Unwritten

Bo Bunny ~ Double Dot Coral/Island Mist

My Mind's Eye ~ Lost & Found Portobello Road ~ Family

Prima ~ Orchard Mix Sunglow Flowers

Buttons

Jute

Burlap

Added:

Bo Bunny Cardstock Stickers ~ True Friend (title frame and letter stickers)

Ranger ~ Distress Ink: Walnut Stain/Pumice Stone

DMC Floss ~ #760/#3031

Ranger ~ Stickles: Diamond

Want 2 Scrap ~ Baby Bling Pearls 

Tools:

Tim Holtz Ruler

Martha Stewart ~ Deco Shells Corner Punch (around the page)

In-Stitch'z Piercing Tool

Also entered in:

Use it Tuesday Challenge #9 ~ Dies, Punches, Cutouts, Oh My!: The corner punch that I used to create the shell scalloped circle is one I bought last summer and am finally using for the first time. **
Design Dollies ~ Summertime Is HERE!: fishing on a lovely summer day (June 20)
Catered Crop Linking Party FTR14: From Hannah's card I used, distressing, piercing tool and instead of machine stitching - hand stitching, pearls, scalloped circle. **
Sugar Creek Hollow ~ Doilies Challenge: I used a corner punch to create the doily on my LO. **

Thanks for stopping by. I treasure your comments.

~ Blessings ~

Scrap-Friendzy "Seaside Cottage" Kit reveal

My name was drawn to be the DT to work with the Scrap-Freindzy June Kit "Seaside Cottage." Imagine my excitement when these lovely items arrived at my door:

So far, I've created two layouts and a card.

For my first layout I wanted to showcase some of the gorgeous features in the Bo Bunny Gabrielle paper by fussy cutting the butterflies and other elements. I added some stickles to the butterflies as well. Isn't this vintage lace absolutely gorgeous? The large brad was a perfect center for the daisy I created by punching and coloring some of my scraps from this project and the metal frame was a perfect accent for my journaling. 

All of the elements on this page are from the kit. I also used some things we all have laying around our scrap room: distress ink, chalk, stickles, glossy accents, thread, a scrap of white cardstock for the leaves around the flower and a couple punches.

Here are some close-ups:

The vintage lace on a background of distressed/inked/punched scraps:

I used a daisy punch for this flower then distress inked and chalked it up to get the right color to go with the tulips. I cut the leaves on my Gazelle and then inked them.  This gorgeous brad was included in the kit. I cut a circle from a paper scrap for the flower center, then applied glossy accents for a nice shine. The title block was cut from a scrap and I wrote out the title:

Here you can see some of the fussy cutting, distressing, and stitching around the photo:

We don't always have a lot of time to create a layout (OK, you know I always spend tons of time!) But for this next page, I wanted to show how this wonderful kit could be used to create a page in a snap. This layout took about an hour, and if you used sticker letters it would go even faster. Everything here is from the kit. I only added a little distress ink to the birds and photo mat edges. I oohed and awed over these lovely prima birds and flourish and the lovely flower ribbon!

I also created a graduation card from my scraps. I added the die cut/embossed/alcohol inked metal piece, butterfly stamp, and ribbon from my stash and a piece of Bo Bunny Almond Dot for the card base:

If you would like more details about the card, you can go to my grad card post.

I still have so much material to work with. I'll be sharing another layout or two as I get them done.

The "Seaside Cottage" kits are going fast so be sure to get yours soon before they are gone.

Thanks for stopping by! I enjoy reading your lovely comments.

~ Blessings ~

Sister Love

This is a fun photo of the girls from 2000. The ground is bare dirt because they had graded our property to begin building our new home.

ScrapFIT has the most wonderful challenge going this month.

Workout #45 'Around The House'

Have you ever stopped to think about what items you have around the house to help aid your scrapbook creativity?  There are hundreds of items you can use either directly on your layout (ex: a tag that came off a new piece of clothing) or to aid you in creating a technique on your layout (ex: run your sons hot wheels car through your ink pad and then run it on your paper for a great tire effect).  Lets see what you can find around the house to make this layout awesome!

Any of you who are regular followers know that I relish repurposing found items on my scrapbook pages, as I have done on this LO:

My repurposed items include the distressed cardboard and the metal flower. I came home last week to find an old pair of tennis shoes in the trash, double checked with our daughter to make sure they were goners, then proceded to cut off the metal eyelets that held the shoestrings in place. I rubbed them with some pitch black alcohol ink to give them even a little bit more age, then arranged them into a flower for the layout.

Techniques:

I used the same technique to create the metal bracket mat as in my recent Graduation Card Post.

Distressed Cardboard ~ you can take any piece of corrugated cardboard and roughly tear it into the general size and shape that you are looking for. Then strip off the flat paper from the top to show the corrugation below. Be sure to leave some bits of that top layer on for texture. At this point I use some kind of archival/make it acid free type mist on the front and back, so it won't turn my papers and photos yellow over time. Then I take a distress ink pad and apply it directly to the stripped down cardboard, being sure to get in all the groves at the torn edges.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This layout is also one of my challenge pages for the fabulous Scrap-Friendzy "Day at the Spa" Crop which runs until midnight Monday June 6 CST (That's tonight). Hint - my challenge is "white" space. 

So if you've got time to scrap today go see the 16 fun challenges our DT has waiting for you. Each completed project gets your name in the hat for our crop prize. Don't have scrappy time today? Come on over and play anyway. You have the rest of the month to complete the spa challenges for chances at our June Scrap-Friendzy Girlfriend of the month prize. Plus you'll find a fun and friendly community of scrappers to hang out with!

Used to create this layout:

DCWV ~ Tattered Time Paper Stack - Background paper and tickets

Craft Store Purchase ~ 36 Gauge sheet metal (comes in a roll in a plastic tube)

Ranger Alcohol Ink ~ Pitch Black, Denim, Ginger, Oregano

Ranger Distress Ink ~ Stormy Sky, Pumice Stone

Stash ~ decorative paper clip

Discarded Tennis Shoe Eyelets

Discarded Cardboard

Sizzix Movers and Shapers Die ~ Ornamental by Tim Holtz 

Embossing Folder (borrowed)

Krylon ~ Make It Acid-Free

This layout is also entered in:

Stampin' Sisters in Christ ~ Challenge #92 John 13 34-35 - Something new: I used corrugated cardboard on a project for the first time, and shoe lace eyelets to make the flower. ••

One Stop Craft Challenge ~ Week #134 - Texture: found in the corrugated cardboard, embossed metal, metal eyelets to create flower and paper clip embellishment **

Delicious Doodles ~ Challenge #28 - Texture: found in corrugated cardboard, embossed metal, metal eyelets to create flower, and paper clip embellishment **

Thanks for stopping by. I enjoy reading your comments.

~ Blessings ~

Graduation Card

This graduation card was created for sweet Rachel.

I created this card for the Bo Bunny Card Challenge Tuesday Sketch using the fabulous June "Seaside Cottage" Kit from Scrap-Friendzy.

Here is the sketch:

Techniques used:

The scalloped medallion is a piece of sheet metal that I die cut with a Spellbinder's Nestability die. You could use any kind of die cut machine (I've never tried cutting it on my Gazelle (similar to a Cricut). Be sure to select a die shape that will fit into the die folder, so the entire sheet of metal will be embossed.  Once embossed, I dabbed with alcohol inks until I achieved this mottled appearance.

I stamped two different butterfly images on Bo Bunny Double Dot Almond paper, & the celebrate image on Double Dot Ocean paper. Then I fussy cut the images.

A border was punched from the Ocean Dot paper then inked for dimension. The base of the card is Almond Dot, and I cut a section of Gabrielle Dot for the card background. A length of Aquamarine Double Dot ribbon tops the card.

Here is a shot of the inside of the card:

Here you can see the dot side of the almond Double Dot paper, and the mat for the sentiment is more of the Ocean Double Dot Paper.

Products used for this card:

Bo Bunny Papers: Gabrielle Dot, Double Dot ~ Almond, Double Dot ~ Ocean

Bo Bunny Ribbon ~ Aquamarine

Cloud 9 ~ 4x8 Butterfly Stamp

Stampendous ~ Sentiment Stamp

Distress Ink: Walnut Stain, Pumice Stone

Craft Store Purchase ~ 36 gauge sheet metal

Ranger Alcohol inks: Denim, Ginger, Oregano

EK Success Punch ~ Acanthus Leaf

Martha Stewart Corner Punch Topiary

Nestability ~ Lacy Circle Die

Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folder ~ Hello Friend

Gift from my friend, Jessie ~ Graduation stickers

Stash Scrap ~ Cream cardstock for sentiment

Look at this fabulous "Seaside Cottage" June Kit being offered by Scrap-Friendzy. If you are interested in purchasing one, check here for more details.

I am blessed to be Scrap-Friendzy's featured design team member of the month to create with this gorgeous kit, so stay tuned for some "Seaside Cottage" layouts coming soon.

I have also entered this card in the following:

Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge #92 - John 13:34-35 ~ include something new: My new technique is the combo of die cut sheet metal/embossing folder/alcohol ink. I also used two new stamp sets - the butterflies and the sentiment. **

CES Challenge Blog Challenge #39 - Clean and Simple **

One Stop Craft Challenge Week #134 - Texture: Embossed sheet metal with alcohol ink, ribbon**

Desert Island Crafts Challenge #9 - Recipe - Use 3 from list: I used 4) pull out your scraps. All the papers but the card base are scraps from other projects and the butterfly images were cut from scraps from the card base paper. 7) 2+ images. I used 4 images - 2 different butterflies and 2 sentiments - one on the front of the card and one inside. 10) Handmade embellishment. I created the scalloped medallion from a die cut piece of sheet metal and alcohol inks. **

ABC Challenge - V is for Variety - 3 different type of embellishments: 1) Stamped and fussy cut images 2) ribbon 3) die cut/embossed/alcohol inked sheet metal **

Tuesday Throwdown #51 - DIY Embellishments: I created the scalloped medallion **

Scrapbookaholic by Abby Challenge #6 - Graduation **

Thanks for stopping by. I always appreciate your comments.

~ Blessings ~

Winner of Scrapbook Sisters Challenge #3 ~ Banners and Flags

I am so honored to find that I have won another scrapbook contest. This time over at Scrapbook Sisters ~ Challenge #3 Banners and Flag. This site has been up and running for card challenges, but recently added scrapbook challenges.

I entered "Show Me" of our son and my dad together. Joseph is showing grandpa his fishing tackle box:

You can go here if you would like more details about this layout.

Their June challenge is Men. I encourage you to create a layout of a special man or men in your life and enter it at Scrapbook Sisters.

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Blessings ~

Toot - Winner of Bo Bunny's Layout Challenge Friday Sketch Contest

I am so honored to have been selected as the winner of Bo Bunny's Layout Challenge Friday Sketch Challenge. 

Here is the sketch by the fabulous Tara Orr:

And my take on the sketch with "Only You":

As you can see, I chose to go with a fun and funky design and not the elegant style of the sketch, so I was quite surprised to see this layout of our silly Elizabeth selected. For more details on this LO go here to my original post.

You can participate in Bo Bunny's current challenge here.

Today we have another fabulous challenge to inspire you. We asked our designers to use a piece of fabric, such as a piece of clothing, as their inspiration. And as you will see, they have used everything from a pillow to a baby's onesie! Let's see what they have shared with us! You have until June 9th to enter your project.

Thanks Bo Bunny for your wonderful, fun challenges and most of all for the fabulous products you create!

~ Blessings ~