Friday, July 27, 2012

ScrapThat! August Kit Reveal and Blog Hop!!

Welcome to the ScrapThat! August Kit Reveal and Blog Hop!!
We are delighted to introduce our kit this month featuring the beautiful Charlotte's Dream Collection from Kaisercraft.
This kit has an array of many gorgeous products such as... lace, pearls, die cuts, rub-ons, tulle, an array of pretty flowers and much much more!
Now, without further ado... our August kit--
"Once Upon a Dream"

August Main Kit
1 ea Illusion
1 ea Deja-vu
1ea Daze
1 ea Vision
1 ea Fantasy
1 ea Charlotte
1 ea Prayer
1 ea Contemplate,  large die cut
1 ea Bazzill, Aqua
1 ea Bazzill, Olive
1 ea Bazzill, Tan
2 ea Kaisercraft, small die cuts
1 ea Kaisercraft, Rub-ons
1 pkg Kaisercraft, Pearls
1 pkg Mrs Grossman's Alpha stickers
1 ea Decoartive Accent, Glass gem
1 ea Celebrate it, paper sack
2 ea IAMROSES, small green leaves
10 ea IAMROSES, flowers
2-4 ea Wild Orchid Crafts, flowers
                  2 ea Wild Orchid Crafts, long leaves                                          
2 ea Wild Orchid Craft, Brads, Pearl White
           1 ea Wild Orchid Crafts, small embellishment, copper
1 ea Prima, Lace Flower, Aqua
1 ea Prima, Cradle Robin
1 length Cotton lace, cream
1 length Tulle, Aqua
1 length Cheesecloth, White
 Paper Add-on
1 ea Illusion
1 ea Deja-vu
1ea Daze
1 ea Vision
1 ea Fantasy
1 ea Charlotte
1 ea Prayer
1 ea Contemplate,  large die cut
1 ea Bazzill, Aqua
1 ea Bazzill, Olive
1 ea Bazzill, Tan

Embellishment Add-on
1pkg Kaisercraft, Crochet Doilies
1 pkg Kaisercraft, Magical Butterflies
1 pkg Petaloo, Chipboard Deco Frames 

Flower Add-On
1 Pkg Zva, Flower with Leaves
1 Pkg Prima, Parisa Flower
1 Pkg Prima, Champagne

We are currently accepting new Kit Club Members.
For more information, pop over to complete the form at this link:
We also have a new sketch challenge for you this month with a sketch designed by our very own Amarilys Doria.
You have until August 15th to enter this challenge for a chance to win a great prize.
Here is the sketch for you to play along:

Our Blog Hop features 7 fantastic blogs from our Design Team 
To qualify for this month's Prize you must complete the following:
 1. Visit each blog listed on the hop to see what each Designer has created using this month's kit and sketch
 2. Each designer's blog hop post will feature a word to make up a secret sentence, collect these words along the way and follow the directions provided in the ScrapThat! forum when completed.
3. You must become a FOLLOWER of each blog along the way and LIKE ScrapThat! on FACEBOOK

4.  Post the ScrapThat! blinkie on your blog
 5. Our last stop in our Blog Hop is the ScrapThat! Forum… follow the link provided and complete the remainder of the blog hop instructions
The Blog Hop ends July 30st 12AM CST
Prize MUST be claimed within 3 days of the announcement which will be made on the ScrapThat! Blog August 2nd  
If left unclaimed a NEW winner will be chosen ~
Please Note: for anything larger than an envelope, winner will be responsible for the cost of shipping\.

Should you lose your way, here is the Blog Hop sequence:
*****

Now, are you ready to see my creations?! 
"Friends" (LO using MK, EAO, FAO and personal stash)

This kit was such a pleasure to  work with and was so versatile! Loved the Charlotte's Dream paper collection. 

For my first project, I've used a photo of my dgd with one of her horses. I chose the large Die Cut paper along with the brown print paper (Illusion) and added a Dusty Attic grass border (from my stash) as well as a Dusty Attic chicken wire piece behind my photo. Lots of gesso, Glimmer Mist and Glimmer Glam made them come to life. I hope you got in on Scrap That!'s last Dusty Attic order because the chippys are such a nice element to add to your pages. I've also used my fav Donna Salazar Twig stamp to enhance my "grassy" area, then made a few flowers with my Spellbinders Rose Creations die to go along with a few from the kit. There is some wet distressing which I will have a tutorial on early next month.  Note that the wooden butterfly is from the EAO and the light green flowers and the brown Glimmer Misted flowers are from FAO. I also did some more of my random punch work along a few sides as well as some machine stitching. 

"Danny Boy" (LO using MK only and personal stash)

Here is my sweet little Danny Boy, named after my husband. He and his twin brother are about 17 months old now and have so enriched this granny's life. 

I've been inspired by all the drippy paint artists that I've seen lately, so it is hard to credit just one person. But I've been dying to get a little more bold with it as I have done here. Perfect for this rowdy little guy! Otherwise I've added lots of soft elements to the page to go along with my sweet grandson's soft blonde hair and skin. Since he is still a baby, I thought I could get away with it! LOL There is more Dusty Attic from my stash here (French Flourish and the baroque circle) along with florals from the main kit as well as Manor House flowers from my own stash. The tulle, lace and little Prima bird nest are also from the main kit. This page serves as my Main Kit only layout, adding only Dusty Attic, paper doilies and Manor House blooms (peach) from my own stash. 

"Other Things" (LO using MK, EAO, FAO and personal stash)

I was itching to do a round layout this time! I am always  inspired by Helena Johansson's work and she does lots of beautiful round pages. I split the large Zva flower (FAO) in half to use on either side of the photo after painting it to match my paper. You will also note the lovely crochet doilies from the EAO that I've used as flowers. I sneaked in another Dusty Attic piece from my stash (Scroll Border #2) and adorned it with the blue decorative stone from the MK after sponging some paint over my piece. It is finished with lots of Gesso to give it a whitewashed look. The die cut paper behind my layout is a very old paper from my stash made by Creative Imaginations but it is not attached to the page.


"Bobby" (LO using MK, EAO and FAO)

Here is  the other twin grandson, Bobby. He is the cuddle-bug! Again, I've gone flower crazy but Grandpa says it's okay  .. he is a baby after all. The tulle and cheesecloth worked great on this page. I was overjoyed to see them in our kit this time! Here I've added the Petaloo Chipboard Frame (EAO) behind my photo, then topped it with cheesecloth and flowers. The yummy green flowers are from FAO and white and peach (originally white) are from the main kit. 

That's about it from me today. I am sure you are about ready to move on down the hop.  But first:

My Secret Word is: at 

And your next and last stop is: ScrapThat! Forum 

Thanks for coming by! 

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Sneak peeks of the Scrap That! August Kit


Here is a sneak peek of the Scrap That! August Kit.

This one is called Once Upon a Dream. 


Stay tuned for our Blog Hop and August Kit reveal on Friday, July 27th, 9:30 AM CDT. 
It will be awesome! I can't wait to share my creations!

Check out Scrap That's! blog here.
Visit our ning site for tons of inspiration. 









See you Friday! 


Saturday, July 21, 2012

Have you seen this give-away??


Oh my! Look at all this Prima goodness that Ingvild Bolme is giving away to some lucky winner! She is celebrating her new blog design ... which is simply fabulous! Could it be any less? Hop on over and take a look if you haven't been! Here's the LINK

I'm crossing my fingers! 

SOUS Original sketch reveal day!




Hi, everyone! This is going to be a very fast post from me today as reveal is only moments away! Although I did not think I had time to do the sketch this week, I dearly loved it and just had to play!!! 

Really, this is simpler than most of my pages but when I tried to add more to it, the layout just looked far too busy. I guess sometimes less really is more! Never thought you'd hear me say that, huh? 

I've used the gorgeous Lake House collection from Kaisercraft ... which I could not get to photograph quite true to color. But trust me, they are so yummy! One very time consuming detail done was using my craft knife to fussy cut the fountain from the background paper so that I could layer my other papers behind it. Next it was "distress and random punch" time! Been loving the "random punch" look. I've added some doilies and then some cute little Petaloo butterflies from my stash. My title was made using some foam Thickers in charcoal that I had on hand. I've had them awhile and it was nice to finally use them! 

The photo is of my dggd taken recently. There is some  PhotoShop editing with Florabella to add some glow to her face. 

I think that is about it! I hope that you will hop on over to Stuck on U Sketches and see what the rest of the Design Team has done! There are some amazing layouts! While you are there, please, please, please scroll on down to the Card Challenge posted below today's reveal. Our Card team really aced the sketch and graced us with some fabulous work. Now we are waiting for some participation .. from you!! For either challenge, you have 2 weeks to complete a project and then upload it for a chance at the Top 3. 

Thanks for coming by. Hope you have a great weekend! 


Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Stuck on U's First Card Challenge !


Happy Wednesday, everyone! Today I am so excited as we introduce our first ever Card Challenge at Stuck on U Sketches. These challenges will be based on sketches that we create especially for you.  These will be posted on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month and you will have 2 weeks to upload your cards for a chance at the Top 3. 

Last Wednesday you met the Card Challenge Design Team and we know that you are going to be inspired by them! I know I will be! 

Here is our first sketch:


And up above you can see the card that I created! I'm telling you, it is probably one of my all time favorite cards I've made. As you know I am mainly a layout gal, but I really had the mojo flowing for this one. 

My papers are all Glitz French Kiss which I layered, punched (MS Floral Vine), distressed with ink and then graced with a favorite Prima swirl in black along with a Prima Almanac chipboard piece which was originally for my sentiment. On the spur of the moment, I decided to use it for mounting a butterfly cut with my Cheery Lynn Small Lace Faerie Queen with Angel Wing die. It is topped with a small rose. 

I've used some smaller Prima roses along the sides of the chipboard and then stamped my Sentiment on the bottom right of the card. The inside has matching paper and a  computer-generated message for my sister-in-law printed on white card stock. A small Martha Stewart butterfly punch was used to complete the look.

Okay .. now it is your turn to join in the fun and link your project over at Stuck on U Sketches using the Inlinz tool. We hope you will help us get the word out and we'll have lot of participation. 

Thanks for coming by! I love reading your sweet comments! 



Sunday, July 15, 2012

Scrap That! July Challenge

Hello, everyone! I am hosting this month's DT challenge over at the Scrap That! Forum. I love to alter and use chipboard on my layouts and I thought this would be a great challenge for the month of July. Participants will have 2 weeks to play. The challenge ends on July 30th and a winner will be posted there on July 31st. Here is the link to the Challenge

On my sample, I have used Gesso to paint the chippy and then used Glimmer Mist and Glimmer Glam on this piece. DT member Alissa Wells has a great video tutorial posted HERE showing how she altered some chipboard.

If you don't have any chipboard, then trying cutting some shapes from  thin cardboard such as a cereal box. Then alter it to you heart's content and use on a LO, card, tag, ATC or altered item.

Here is my page using some chipboard I altered. You can read about how I did that HERE



Here's a close-up:


Hope you will come join the fun! Can't wait to see what you create! 

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Guess what's happening over at SOUS?

This is what posted over on the Stuck on U Sketches blog yesterday and I thought I would post it to my own blog today. 


It is with great excitement that Leah, Nanne and I announce our new Card Team designers to you our faithful followers!  "Excited" is an understatement for me personally because this has been my baby so to speak .. with Leah and Nanne's help of course!  And a big shout out to Leah for helping with the initial sketches! Muwah!


 We received so many wonderful applications, and again we thank you so much! Hopefully, you can play along with us on our challenges  and try out on the next Design Team call! 


So who are these fabulous inaugural Card Designers? First off, we have a couple of familiar faces: 


Jane Stirling from the Sketch team

and Tracey Kelley from the Die Cut team!


 Ladies, we feel personally honored that you jumped at the chance to do Cards for us as well! That speaks volumes to us about your commitment to SOUS! We can't wait to see your new creations! 

And now .. here are  the newest members of the SOUS DT (in alphabetical order!) Drum roll please!!!  

Alissa Wells
"I teach elementary music in Houston, TX and my down time is filled with running, crafting, and my little boy. My card style includes lots of stamping and shabby chic details. I blog at Will Run for Stamps." 


Becky Litz

"Hello Everyone! My name is Becky. My partner Trevor and I live with our two kiddos; Olivia 9 and Sullivan 1 in Cranbrook BC in the heart of the B-E-A-U-tiful Canadian Rocky Mountains. I am a Elementary School teacher but I am taking some time off to stay home with our son, and while I’m at it I look after two other little boys the same age.  Papercrafting is my passion and I am so excited to be able to share it with you. I am thrilled to be a part of the new SOUS Card Sketch Team and I look forward to getting to know these amazing ladies some more. Please stop by and visit my blog at www.scrapcircus.blogspot.com. "

Erica Ortiz
"Hello everyone! My name is Erica, also known as mimi402.  I live in El Paso Texas and happily married to a wonderful man named Bob.  My husband and I have no children but do have one rather large fur-baby lab mix named Cozmo. I work full time as a federal employee and in my spare time you can usually find me in my scraproom, relieving the stresses of every day life.  I started paper crafting in 2010 and like many others, have become totally addicted to this hobby. I love the art of creating and preserving memories.  As much as I enjoy creating layouts...I also love creating cards, playing with canvases, and working on shadow boxes that I give to my family and friends as gifts. I am so thrilled to be a part of the Card Design Team at Stuck on U Sketches and to be given the opportunity to share my creations!  I hope to inspire others and to get inspired by all of you."


Leslie Foley
"Hi, my name is Leslie. I'm married with 3 kids and I live in Phoenix, Arizona.
I'm very happy to be part of your team. I started Scrapbooking and Stamping about 12 years ago, and shortly after that I started teaching classes in local craft stores around town. I love to work with anything that has to do with paper and fabric." 


Nancie Quah 
"Hello, my name is Nancie Quah (http://punchcreations.blogspot.com/). I was born at " The Pearl of the Orient" Penang and currently staying in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I started with punched craft in 2006 with my daughter, then I ventured into rubber stamps, altered projects and scrapbooking and was hooked since then. Besides crafting, I love to travel (especially seaside), cook and spend time with my family and friends. 
Hugs
Nancie"

Vivian Lake
"Hi, I'm Vivian Rose Lake!  I'm 35 years old and have been scrapbooking for fourteen years. I live and work in Southern Indiana. I consider myself a "jack of many trades".  I am a registered veterinary technologist, but my main job is in management.  I have been married for nearly eleven years and have one son.  I also have 3 rescue animals, two dogs and a cat.   This is my first design team and am thrilled to be here. These days, most of my cards seem to have some sort of critter on them. I tend to gravitate towards making "cute" cards more than sentimental or "pretty" cards.  It is a personal challenge for me to make masculine/boy cards, or a card that could be used either way.  But, I do love to make flowers too but for some strange reason find making feminine cards even more difficult.  Within the last couple years, I have learned that I truly love making my own die cuts and flowers so most of my cards and layouts have mostly my own handmade embellishments on them.  Thank you, SOUS, for giving me the opportunity to challenge myself and showcase my work on your site."
.....

Isn't that a great line up or what ?? I cannot wait to see their first projects come rolling in! 

Our Card Challenges debut next Wednesday the 18th and will post on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. As with our other challenges, you will have 2 weeks to upload your projects with the Inlinz tool for a chance at Top 3! 

We'd be grateful if you would help get the word out so that we will have plenty of participation early on! 

 Don't forget .. next Wednesday July 18th .. the DT will be posting their first Card creations for SOUS! 

Thanks for coming by! And welcome, ladies! 


Saturday, July 7, 2012

Garden Party Crop Challenge!

Here is the challenge that I have posted at Scrap That!'s Summer Garden Party. Check it our HERE to play along with us!


"Welcome to Scrap That's Garden Party Crop and to my Color Combo Challenge!! 
Here is a photo from Pinterest that depicts the colors you must use: 1.) Dark rose  2.) Dark Purple and 3.) Leaf Green. For an extra point, you can add 4.) Light Purple .. as I have done. 
You can do a LO, card, tag, ATC, arch or altered project but you must use those 3 colors!" 

And here is my example: 

"Now for some rules:
*you may use 1 project towards 2 challenges, as long as it's based on both challenges
*Crop ends July 8th 8pm CST, all challenge entries are due by Monday 10pm
*All participants and projects are welcome! You do not have to use Scrap That kit contents
* upload your challenge entry into this thread
*challenge winners will be announced Tuesday July10th in each Challenge Thread, you have 3 days to claim your prize (email Jenifer at jenifer@scrapthat.ca)"

Friday, July 6, 2012

SOUS Original Sketch Day!


Hurray! It's Fridayyyyyyy!! The weekend is nearly here and I can't wait! This first week back to work after vacation has been kinda tough! But .. enough whining already LOL 

Friday also means that it is Reveal day over at Stuck on U Sketches and this week it is sketch week with an awesome multi-photo sketch by our super talented Nanne' Harry. 

For my page I've used some yummy BoBunny Weekend Market. Aren't they just luscious? And I thought they were a great backdrop for more of my dd's recent cruise photos. I did lots of distressing, some fussy cutting and even  did some stamping in the upper right hand corner using my new-ish chicken wire stamp. I've added some gorgeous bling along the left side with a couple of Prima (with dangles .. so perfect for my Dani) mixed in. I've finished the page with crinkle ribbon, a fussy cut butterfly painted with crackle medium and some flat-backed adhesive pearls. My title is a vintage piece called Petals and Possibilities Scrap Metal. It is copper in color and actually looks kind of new and fresh after a few years of hiding out in the scrap supplies. LOL

I hope that you will have an opportunity to see what the design team has done this week. These ladies blow me away with their creativity .. week after week! Also .. we hope that you will have a chance to play along and upload YOUR take on Nanne's sketch. 

On another note, I hope that you will have a chance to come on over to the weekend crop at Scrap That! Details are on the right sidebar. We are going to have games, challenges and some great prizes too! 

Thanks so much for coming by. I love reading your sweet comments. They keep me motivated .. that's for sure! Have a scrap happy weekend! 

Bye for now .. 

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Sandi's Scrap That! July tutorial ~ Build a page ~


Happy Tuesday, fellow scrappers! I'm here today with my July tutorial using the awesome Scrap That! "Summer in my Garden" Kit.  I've chosen to feature the page I did using only the contents from the "main kit" and thought I would share how I put my layout together.


I started with selecting the papers I wanted to use along with a favorite photo of my mom picking cherries many years ago.  For the base, I selected the beautiful Fabscraps Organic "Tree" paper ..


.. and then selected the "Strawberries" paper to make a couple of handmade flowers. I also set aside a sheet of the matching "Script" paper for later use.  I've left my photo in color rather than converting to b/w because I wanted to remember the photo and the day "as it was."


These flowers were done using the Tim Holz Tattered Florals die. After cutting them with my Vagabond, I spritzed the paper and twisted each flower layer tightly, then unfolded and layered them. These were spritzed with Sugar Plum Glimmer Mist as well as Iridescent Gold. After assembling, I scrunched them some more and rotated the petals until I was satisfied with the look. We've had some great flower tutorials from our DT lately and I highly recommend your reviewing them when you have time! I think handmade flowers look great on projects but I don't do them often enough! 


Knowing that I wanted to add the burlap piece to my floral cluster, I sewed the brown button from the kit onto the circle, then cut the burlap toward the center to make flower "petals."  It was also spritzed with some of my Sugar Plum GM. 


Next, I started altering my chipboard piece and began with the items seen above .. 


which quickly turned into this ... LOL! I just keep adding until I get the mix I want. I am still laughing at myself but I'm sure you can relate! 


For the base, I applied white Gesso to provide some texture. Next I painted the piece with Adirondack's acrylic paint Dabber in Juniper. Normally I work on kraft paper but sometimes I just grab a bit of newspaper! 


Then I began painting on my GM and Glimmer Glams with a "fan" brush until I got the color mix I was looking for. Don't be afraid to mix your colors on your chipboard pieces. It really makes them more interesting when you do! Pre-dominantly, I've used Dirty Martini and Royal Velvet GG for the intense color. Lastly, I added a little pearl above the "I."


Knowing that I wanted to break up the color scheme with some white, I splattered white Gesso on my paper by tapping on a loaded paintbrush. 


My next paper selection was the Fabscraps Organic Script paper which I tore to give me a diagonal piece for the upper right corner of the layout.  Before adhering it to the base, I did use a Prima "branches" mask and some Sugar Plum GM but I forgot to photograph this step. However, you can see the results in the photos at the end of this post.


For added interest, after trimming my papers to about 11.75 by 11.75 inches, I punched around the edge of my papers with my Martha Stewart Cherish punch and then lightly distressed the edges with my Tim Holtz distress tool. At this point, I inked all my paper edges with Shabby Shutters distress ink on the green and Prima's Old Road (included in the kit .. and a gorgeous color!) on the rose. I then added some cardstock beneath these papers to bring definition to the edges. 


As I work on a page, I stop from time to time and lay my elements down to get an idea how things are going to look, making changes as needed. 


.. checking it again with more elements in place ...


There is a recipe card include in the kit, which I've distressed and used as a photo mat. Here you can also see the cute little clothespins that were included. Because of their dimension, I used foam squares to adhere my photo to the layout. 


Next I applied some spray adhesive to my chipboard and added it to the page. To avoid the chipboard from "floating" by itself, I've layered it over the photo slightly. 


I decided to add some gauze underneath my floral cluster and also tucked it under the Script paper just a bit on one side. 


Then I glued my flowers in place, adding in just a few small red flowers from my stash. The white flowers are also from the kit and along with the gauze work great with the white paint splatters.  I decided to use the craft sticks as journaling strips. With some inked edges and a few mini-alphas from my stash, they were done.  I finished the page with a green Sizzix-cut branch and a small butterfly made with a Martha Stewart punch. These were also inked before adhering to the page. The dual layer butterfly is mounted using foam squares and decorated with a few pearls. 


Here is a close-up of the floral cluster. You can see that I've added some gorgeous leaves that were from the kit. 


I included this shot because you can see the little curlicues (on the left) that I made using the green floral picks (aka green fence posts.) I tucked those in to the cluster and did not even need to glue them in place.


And finally, a close-up of the craft sticks used as journaling strips. 

Whew, that was a long post! Thanks for bearing with me. Hopefully, you had a bit of fun in the process! See you next time!