Recent Cards and Layouts

I've been terrible about posting my cards and layouts lately.  So . . . . here are ones that I've done lately:

This little 3x5 cards were for a challenge at a member board.  They are great to use as a gift enclosure.

I was playing around with my modeling paste and washi tape and decided to use this photo that was a little blurry, and one of a few selfies I have taken.  Since "selfie" was the word of the year for 2013, thought I should create a layout with one!

We had a lot of fun New Year's Eve.  Mama was here with us, and we had fireworks that Glenn had bought in Florida, and some sparklers.  Me and mama fixed some finger foods - veggie platter, chicken wings, fruit, and we had some mimosas!

This is Daddy's birthday card for his 81st birthday!  

I had fun making this card for Michele and Brandon for Valentine's Day.  I bought some Valentine embellishments from Archiver's going out of business sale, and I love the boy/girl, and the cursive "love."  The background hearts is velum, and the torn paper is from a MME 6x6 pad.

I played around with my chalks and masks - I haven't used my chalks in a very long time, and I saw on a YouTube tutorial someone using chalk with their masks, so I thought I would try it.  It was a little messy and I kept getting my hand right in the middle of the chalk!  I used my washi tape again, and a long forgotten photo overlay.  I love this picture of Tyler and Allison.  It was taken at one of our rental houses when we still lived in CA (on July 4th).

Since we don't have any kids or grandkids for trick-or-treating, I made a layout of our decorations.  I stitched at the top of the layout.

This is the card I make for Glenn for our anniversary/Valentines Day.  We got married on February 13th - 32 years ago this year.  Wow!

I love this picture of Glenn with Tyler, Allison, Michele and Brandon in Augusta at The Cotton Patch restaurant.  I love the quote at the bottom and I think our kids are doing a great job with their new wings.

Anniversary Gift

Tomorrow is mine and Glenn's 32nd Anniversary, so I decided to make a gift for him.  I saw this on Pinterest.  I started with a canvas, and found a page out of an old atlas of the state of Georgia.

I painted the canvas around the edges and sides, and let it dry.

I used Mod Podge to put the map page on the canvas.  I put 2 coats on.

After it dried, I used Modeling Paste and one of my favorite masks to add some texture.

I added the heart above the city where Glenn and I met, then printed off the title

"Where it all Began"

I love the way it turned out.  I hope he likes it too!

Scrap Her Scraps

A challenge at Scrappin-Peeps member board is called Scrap Her Scraps.  We have a partner that we send our scraps from the last couple of layouts or cards we've made; then we make a layout and/or a card with the scraps we receive.  Here's my layout and card:

 

The background paper and the layered embellishment at the bottom left is mine, but everything else is from Allison's scraps she sent me.  I even cut out the flower from her note card that she wrote me. 

 

I also made this card from the rest of the scraps.  The only thing that's mine is the "follow you heart" sentiment.

roots & wings

I am finally posting a layout for CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration.  I always go on their site, "look" and print off the current case file, but have never posted one of the layouts I've made.  I really loved the colors for Case File 95, so I decided to jump in and go for it.  Here's the link to CSI:

http://csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com/forum/topics/case-file-no-95-case-closes-on-november-3-2013


And here's my layout:

This is a favorite photo of mine that I took when the kids were visiting the year we moved to Georgia.  It was November, and the weather was very nice for that time of year.  We ate outside at a restaurant called The Cotton Patch.  I printed it in black & white and I thought the blues, gray, white and brown would go perfect.  I experimented a little with gesso, paint, and diamond glaze.

The title came from the quote at the bottom - I think this is what every parent wants for their children, but it doesn't make it any easier when you don't get to see them very often.

Supplies used:

Cardstock - kraft, white, gray
Patterned paper - QuickQuotes (Just Because)
book page - from a dictionary
Quotes - QuickiQuotes
Gesso
Diamond Glaze
Paint - Imagine Crafts (Summer Sky)
Smooch Spritz (Vanilla Shimmer)
Gemstone - the Paper Studio
Twine - WRMK
Wood Tag - Lara's Crafts
Ink - QuickQuotes (Mocha Mama) and Bazzinks (Blue)
Recollections fine writer black pen

Tag, You're It!

I'm back from a trip to California to see my kids and for a friend's wedding, and I had my 35th year high school reunion last week-end.  I was ready to get back  in my scrap room and create something!

Frosted Designs has a new Friday Challenge posted:
http://www.frosteddesigns.blogspot.com/2013/10/friday-challenge-tag-youre-it.html


I had this photo of my friends son that I love - the way he's looking back at me when I took the photo is cool.  He was so tired from swimming at his meet, but you can look at his eyes and know he'll break some young ladies' hearts!

I'm kind of obsessing with modeling paste.  I used it on the tag, on the photo corner and background paper.  I also used gesso on the tag, along with gelato's and ink.  I love experimenting!

Supplies:

Bazzill Cardstock
MME paper - Cut & Paste
MME embellishments - The Sweetest Thing
Modeling Paste
Gesso
Gelatos
Wood Key - Lara's Crafts
Floral Burlap Ribbon with chevron
Studio Calico - Huey's Masks - Bubbles

Halloween Banner

I made my first Halloween Banner!  It was fun and easy - I didn't embellishment too much, but I like the way it turned out.

Texture

Modeling paste has become a regular item on my scrapbook table.  My sister and I first saw it at Scrapbook Expo, and we were in a class at CKC Jacksonville where we used it, along with other items outside the norm of what I've used to scrap with.  What fun!!  The new challenge at Frosted Designs is to use texture on your project and of course I turned to the modeling paste.  Here's the challenge:

http://www.frosteddesigns.blogspot.com/2013/09/friday-challenge-add-texture-to-your.html


I decided to make a card this time.  I tried some layering with chipboard, modeling paste, stamp and ink, canvas, fiber, and cardstock:

Supplies I used:

Liquitex Modeling Paste
Quick Quotes Powder Puff ink
CTMH Stamp
Canvas
Fiber from a friend
Bazzill Cardstock
Farm House Paper Company chipboard
Creative Imaginations die cut

Thanks for looking!

Play Ball!

This double-page layout is the Progressive Challenge at Scrappin-Peeps member board.  I wanted to use the photos from the Atlants Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers game.  My sister and brother-in-law are big Atlanta fans (really my sister is the bigger fan!); and Glenn and I are die hard Dodger fans.  Glenn and Donna tease each other all the time during baseball season!

I couldn't find any baseball printed paper, so I used some papers from the DCWV World Traveler stack; and a Me & My Big Ideas specialty stack.  I really like the way it turned out.

I thought about using some modeling paste but ended up not using it . . . I would have done the stars maybe.

 



I can't tell you how long I've had that baseball die-cut.  I bought it in California about 10 years ago, at least.  The LSS went out of business about 6 years ago.

 

 

I like how the banner turned out with the ribbon on top and buttons scattered on a couple of the flags.

 

Thanks for looking at my layouts!

 

Rainy Day Move

I do believe that in all the moves I've done in my life, I've never had to move in the rain . . . until now.  The first house we were going to buy fell through, and our realtor found us a beautiful new house in a town about 20 minutes from where we thought we were going to live.  We had to move out of our rental home because it had sold, so we only had this one week-end to move - and of course it rained!  We got a 4 1/2 hour window of just cloudy, misty stuff and we had lots of helpers.  Our neighbor across the street had her grandson and 2 of his friends help; also my sister, brother-in-law, and niece helped; and Glenn's brother helped.

This is the first time I used bubble wrap with ink on a layout.  I like the way it turned out.  I also used some new washi tape I bought at CKC Jacksonville.

Thanks for looking!

Move Complete!

We moved into our new house the middle of August, and of course my scrap stuff was packed for about a month prior to that.  This is the first time I've really thought about posting to my blog!  Of course, it's for a challenge over at Frosted Designs!  I love their challenges - here's the latest:

http://frosteddesigns.blogspot.com/2013/09/friday-challenge-3x3.html

I thought I knew exactly how I wanted to create the layout, but turns out it has gone in a completely different direction.  I wanted to use my new Cricut cartridge - Close to my Heart, Artbooking - I picked it up at CKC Jacksonville.  I am loving this cart.  I was almost having buyer's remorse because it was more than I've ever paid for a cart, but now I'm totally loving it!

Here's my layout:

This is a layout about our new home!  The challenge was to pick three of the following and use them at least 3 times - Arrows, Hearts, Stars, or Shapes.  I used arrows, hearts, and a hexagon shape.

Products used:

MME printed papers
Kraft cardstock
Bazzill cardstock
Reminisce sticker
Burlap
Twine from WRMK
Cricut cartridge - Close to my Heart, Artbooking
Glue dots and tape adhesive

 

 

 



Frosted Designs Challenge

This Frosted Designs Fabulous Friday Challenge is - The Great Outdoors!  Here's the link to their challenge: 

http://frosteddesigns.blogspot.com/2013/07/fabulous-friday-challenge-great-outdoors.html

I LOVE this photo of Glenn and I on our motorcycles.  We were coming home from Utah, and my sister-in-law took this photo from her car.  We have ridden some awesome roads, through good weather and bad, and seen some amazing sights.  We love being on the motorcycles, smelling everything, feeling closer to everything, and experiencing the thrill of the open road!

Supplies:

Cardstock - AC
Overlay - Creative Imaginations
Title Letters - EK Success
Embellishments:
   Scrapyourtrip.com
   Fiskar's Hexagon Punch
Ink - Quick Quotes Powder Puff

More Summer Camp Layouts!

This first layout is for the Nature/Wilderness challenge - create a layout about your local nature.  I chose this photo because I love this photo of the Savannah River, with the bridge and the train coming across.  I know it's not much "nature" but . . .

I bought the new Fiskar's hexagon punch at Joanne's and used that; the chipboard cutout is from a company called Molossi.  I won a chipboard package from them through Frosted Designs.

This layout was to create a layout about technology that you rely on, and I really rely on my Kindle almost every day.  I am either reading or playing a game.  I love how convenient it is to travel with, and the back-light so I can read at night in bed.  There aren't too many days it's not in my purse!

Recent Layouts and a Card

I have been scrapping a lot these past 2 weeks, mostly because of Summer Camp at Scrappin-Peeps member board.  There are some very talented ladies at the site and the challenges are so much fun.  I've learned and received a lot of inspiration from the other's work.

This first layout is a sketch challenge.  I'm trying to finish photos that I took on our 2010 motorcycle trip to Tucson, AZ.  I love this sunset photo.  The colors are some of my favorite - blue, orange, white. I started with white cardstock, and inked the background with Quick Quotes Powder Puff inks.  I chose 3 patterned papers and a solid to use in the grid design.  I think this is one of my favorites I've done.

This card was for a weekly card challenge - layering.  I am just now getting the hang of doing more layering!  I feel like I was behind in this technique, but I'm really trying to push myself now.

This next layout was for a weekly layout challenge - use some Instagram photos, or camera photos.  I have to say I love Instagram!  I used a calendar page as the background and just started adding some photos with hand written journaling.  

This layout was for Summer Camp Challenge #2 - Drama Camp.  The challenge was to use a sketch from a sketch site and then write the journaling from someone else's perspective.  These photos are from a peep meet in Anaheim, CA - me, Andrea, Hope, and Erika met for dinner.  Everyone brought their husbands except me :(  We had a fun night getting to know each other.

This layout was for Summer Camp Challenge #4 - Water Sports.  We were to show a water activity your family participates in during the summer.  I had the perfect photos from our last trip to the Delta with the Adams Family!  Oh, how I miss houseboating and camping with them, and we sure miss the Delta.  I used some older papers I've had for a while, along with some not so old that I got at Scrapbook Expo in Duluth, GA.  The "hot, hot, hot" die cut came from a peep during one of our swaps.

Thanks for taking a look!

Ribbon, Twine & Washi Tape

I love the Frosted Designs Challenges - makes me use what's in my stash!  And there is a lot of that!!

The current challenge is to use at least two of the following: ribbon, twine, washi tape.  I chose to use all 3 just because . . . here is the link to the challenge:

http://www.frosteddesigns.blogspot.com/2013/07/fabulous-friday-challenge-ribbon-twine.html

This is another layout of photos I took at the Charlotte Motor Speedway back in October 2012.  Nik Wallenda walked the wire from the top of the stadium seating over the track to pit road.  This was after he walked Niagra Falls, and before the walk across Grand Canyon.  I remember watching the Flying Wallendas when I was little - feeling excited, nervous, and scared at the same time.  Always thrilled when they reach the other side!

My ribbon is at the bottom of the page, my twine is at the top on the banner, on the buttons, and the swirl beside the stars.  Two of  my stars are made of washi tape, as well as the little flower center on the twine swirl.

Ninety percent of the supplies used on this layout is My Minds Eye (Michael's had a ton of it on sale); I also used Basic Grey and American Crafts.

Thanks for looking!

Scrappin-Peeps Card and Layout

These are the latest creations for Scrappin-Peeps.

I love the colors on the card (for the weekly card challenge to make your own background), especially love the embossed background.  I used a Darice embossing folder with the Big Shot and I inked it with QuickQuotes Powder Puff.  Then added a canvas strip, a flower, bird and swirl, along with a Cheers die cut.

This layout has turned out to be one of my favorites.  I created it for the Progressive Challenge.  The photo was taken when Glenn and I celebrated our 30th anniversary in San Diego - the month before moving to Georgia.  We went on a whale watching tour - first one we'd been on and saw several whales.  They weren't close enough to photograph well, though.  As you can tell it was COLD!  February weather was cloudy and rainy and chilly!

I really like the blues and yellow together.  It was fun playing around with the 3 patterned papers, and I like using memorabilia whenever I have it from a trip (the little "I saw a whale" sticker).  The "Life Unscripted" title is a stamp, as well as the heart journal spot.

Frosted Designs Fabulous Friday Challenge - Polka Dots

I love this challenge at Frosted Designs because I have a lot of paper with polka dots!  And it matched perfectly with this photo of Elizabeth I took last October when everyone was here to celebrate Thanksgiving/Christmas.  See the challenge here:

http://www.frosteddesigns.blogspot.com/2013/06/fabulous-friday-challenge-polka-dots.html

Supplies:

Pattern Paper - Sassafraslass
Cardstock - my scrap stash
Twine - MME
Safety Pin - Making Memories
Chipboard - Bazzill
Other embellishments - Basic Grey, Garven LLC, Studio 112, Heidi Grace, Amy Tangerine

Thanks for looking!

Ombre Technique

This is my first attempt at ombre . . . in a current challenge at Scrappin-Peeps member board, we were challenged to create a layout using an ombre technique.  Here's my take:

I embossed a piece of white cardstock and used different shades of blue ink to create the effect.

Thanks for looking!

Frosted Designs Sketch + Wings

Sometimes having a sketch really helps kick my creativity into gear.  Sometimes I follow them to a "T" and sometimes I'll start with the basic idea and tweak it.  I tweaked this sketch a little, but not by much.  

Here is the link to the Fabulous Friday Challenge: http://www.frosteddesigns.blogspot.com/2013/06/fabulous-friday-challenge-sketch-things.html

And here's my layout:

The kids flew to Georgia in November so we could celebrate Christmas with them.  We took our family photos for the Christmas card.  We had so much fun with them, but the week went by so fast.  I miss my babies so much.

Supplies:
My Minds Eye paper
Kraft Cardstock
Burlap
Ribbon from American Crafts
Heart Punch
Studio 18 Chipboard Bird
Jenni Bowlin Butterflies
Crochet Flowers from Michaels
Buttons from my Grandmother's stash
Basic Grey Flags and Chipboard words
American Crafts Thickers

The Guys

Finally getting back into the scrapping mode . . . slowly but surely!  I used the challenge from csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com (#69) for this layout of my California cousins.  I love the colors from this challenge - it looks really good with the outfits the boys are wearing and the pumpkins in the background.

I finally used some of my Spellbinders Nestabilities!  I love when those go on sale!  I also used MME On the Sunnyside and Nostalgia chipboard elements that I got when we attended the Scrapbook Expo in Duluth, GA last year.  Other items used are: DCWV The Guy Stack, 7Gypsies Lillie 8x8 paper,cardstock,twine, and Quick Quotes powder puff ink.

I used to whip out layouts in no time, but I'm beginning to take my time with each layout, really thinking about what elements I want to use and how to highlight my photos.  I'm enjoying the process again.

Thanks for looking!  

Sacred Heart Cultural Center, Augusta, GA

Opened for worship on December 2, 1900 as Sacred Heart Catholic Church; the last mass was held July 3, 1971.  After 16 years of vacancy and vandalism, and extensive renovation, the building re-opened in 1987 as the Sacred Heart Cultural Center.  It is home to various cultural activities including choral concerts, art exhibits, holiday events, etc.