Sunsets on the Pier: Another Seaside Layout

As if you haven't noticed, I kind of love the Seaside paper pack! This is my final layout from the pack. I hope you can also see how far this paper really goes. I was able to get quite a few layouts by adding in some extra cardstock and Picture My Life cards.

For this layout, I decided to use a sketch from Make It From the Heart Vol. 2. I have long admired this design, but didn't really have the right pictures for it. This layout calls for really small photos (2.25x2.25 and 1.5x1.5), so the photos need to be easily cropped. I have my own photo printer, so I can resize photos before trimming, but I highly recommend Studio J for this purpose. Studio J allows you to create prints in a variety of sizes. Check it out here.

The original design for this layout is supposed to be a CAS sketch, which uses a lot of white (negative) space. But, that's not really how I roll, so I added some embellishments, a zip tie, and an extra picture.

This family selfie was too hard to size much smaller than this, so I made it part of a cluster embellishment in the black space on the right page, and added a sweet PML card as a caption.

For the left page, I added some journaling and stamping to highlight the event. We were watching the sunset at Pier 60 in Clearwater, Fl, so I hid a little sun to signify the setting. The journaling spot is from the Seaside Complements set.

I also stamped this adorable checklist, because this was the last day of our trip. The stamp originally said "Summer List", but we were in Florida in September. So, I covered the title with masking tape before stamping.

For the right page, I hid another sunset and added some of the new sequins.

Ingredients:

• Seaside Workshop on the Go
• Seaside Complements
• A al Carte Seaside Picture My Life
• Beach Gear
• Hello Summer 
• Framework Alphabet
• Oceanside Sequins
• Coral Reef Sequins
• Chocolate Ink Pad
• Sanding Kit
• Edge Distresser
• Make It From the Heart Vol. 2

Happy Scrapping, My Artsy Friends!

My Sunshine Scrapbook Layout

Hello there, scrappers! It's a rainy spring day here in Ohio. To get me out of the overcast funk, I worked on another layout from my family's Florida vacation. This spread was to document our trip to the Dunedin Splash Park. Once again, I used the Seaside paper pack and Picture My Life Cards. I absolutely love the Seaside line!

So, for the left page I really wanted to focus on one 5x7 photo of my son playing in the water. He had a lot of fun that day, and went way out of his comfort zone. The smile on his face was proof that he was soaking up the sun and enjoying the splash park.

To embellish this page, I created a sunburst and a title using Cricut Artbooking. Instead of using cardstock to cut the sunburst, I actually used another PML card with a fun chevron graphic on it. This is the first time I have used my Cricut with a PML card, and I am really happy with the results.

I created a cluster of PML cards to put behind the tile of the spread. The title was cut from the Artbooking cartridge, but I welded the letters together in Cricut Craftroom. I used a bling flourish embellishment to make it look like water spraying from the letters.

Finally, I added this little cluster of sun gear, including stamped sunglasses, swim trunks cut from Cricut Life's a Beach, and a metal accent.

For the left page, I created a grid of photos that perfectly capture the day.

I kept the embellishments minimal on this side by using two PML cards and an umbrella cut from Artbooking.

I am entering this layout in this week's Heart 2 Heart anything goes challenge. You can find more info on H2H by visiting them here.

Ingredients:

Seaside Workshop on the Go, Seaside Picture My Life, Cricut Artbooking, Chocolate Ink Pad 

Happy Scrapping, My Artsy Friends!

What a Wonderful World

Hey there, readers! This week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge is What a Wonderful World. I decide to represent the theme with a two page layout of my family exploring the Clearwater Aquarium. Clearwater Aquarium is best known for the world famous dolphin Winter. Winter lost her tail in the wild, and was rescued by the Aquarium. There are two movies about her story. The Aquarium, to me defines what makes our world wonderful: people helping creatures in need.

I used the Seaside paper pack for this layout, because it has the perfect beachfront aquarium feel. For the left page, I layered the papers to feature a single 5x7 photo.

To embellish the left page, I used a Seaside Picture My Life card with this beautiful coral design. I also added a dolphin from the Life's a Beach Cricut Cartridge. I actually cut the tail off of the dolphin, and put it on the other side of the photo. I thought that was a clever way to represent Winter.

I also created my own B&T using a stamp that came from the Seaside Workshop on the Go. I stamped an entire piece of 12x12 sweet leaf cardstock with sweet leaf ink. The coral and the letters are also cut from Life's a Beach.

For the right page, I layered paper to feature four pictures.

I used flip flaps to hide eight more photos.

I again embellished using a PML card, plus some of the Seaside Compliments and Assortments. The journaling spot is actually from the My Crush Wildwood Assortment. I love how these cards match the Seaside pack perfectly!

More info about Heart 2 Heart Challenges can be found here.

Ingredients:

• Seaside Workshop on the Go
• Seaside Complements
• Seaside Picture My Life
• My Crush Wildwood Assortment
• Sweet Leaf Ink
• Sparkles Flourishes
• Flip Flaps

Happy Scrapping, My Artsy Friends!

So Excited!

WOW! I am on cloud nine right now! I just found out that I won not only an individual weekly challenge from Heart 2 Heart, but I am their March 2015 Top Chick! I am so honored!!!

This is a screen shot from the H2H blog. This project won in the "How Cute" category. You can find that project here.

Another screen shot from H2H, this shows my announcement as Top Chick for March. You can find this project here.

I plan to play along with H2H all year, please join my by visiting their website: http://heart2heartchallenges.blogspot.com/

Happy Scrapping, My Artsy Friends!

Happy Camper: Color and Sketch Challenge

This week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge is a sketch challenge.

 I took the opportunity to combine this challenge with my team's Earth Day inspired color challenge: Cocoa, Cashmere, Champagne, Juniper, Pacifica, and Twilight. 

I created a fun friendship card using the Camper Crazy and the new Dizzy Circles stamp sets with a Champagne card base.

I created my own B&T using Dizzy Circles. I love this stamp set! It reminds me of the Spirograph I had as a kid. It is absolutely adorable, and so much fun to play with. I stamped several of the spirals in Cocoa, Pacifica, Juniper, and Twilight on white cardstorck. 

Then, I added a sentiment from the Camper Crazy. Instead of creating a banner, like the original sketch, I added a pop-up camper that I colored with markers to match the rest of the card.

For the inside of the card, I stamped another, smaller camper image in the bottom right corner.

For more information about Heart 2 Heart Challenges, visit them here.

Ingredients:

Happy Scrapping, My Artsy Friends!

Scrapping Me

My upline has tasked our team with scrapbooking a picture of us when we were in school. My mom has most of my school pictures still, but I had a few of my senior pictures, so I decided to use those. The twist in this challenge was that we were supposed to mainly use paper fundamentals. Unfortunately, I am running low on supplies, so I mostly have scraps left. I would call it a tragedy, but I actually really like what I came up with.

The base of my page is Slate cardstock, which I added texture to by inking on a stencil and spritzing some reinker. Then, I layered a scraps from Chalk It Up and Paper Fundamentals. I even included a piece of notebook paper that I crumpled up. 

I used stamps from Geek Is Chic, Great Job, and Assorted Edges to give some more depth to the page.

Ingredients: 

Happy Scrapping, My Artsy Friends!

Checkerboard Baby Shower Card

Hello again! Baby Shower cards are always fun for me. Generally, I try to make each one unique, even though I have completed a few designs I really like. For this Baby Shower card, I drew inspiration from this week's Heart 2 Heart Checkerboard Challenge.


One of my all-time favorite paper packs is the Babycakes pack. I kind of hoard this paper, because it is so adorable. I love that this paper is geared towards babies, but most of the patterns are versatile. For this card, I broke into that stash to create a "quilt" as the card base.

The checkerboard pattern is completed with 1in. squares spaced about a quarter of an inch apart. Then, I went to my sewing machine to create the look that these piece were part of a baby blanket. Let me just say, I am not the best at sewing, and with my recent hand surgery I had difficulty keeping the paper straight, but I actually like the imperfections in my sewing for this particular card.

To embellish the card, I used some twine and a button from my stash. I also used a Babycakes Picture My Life Card, which I trimmed down and the rounded the edges. The sentiment is from the Wild Wonders stamp set. 

I think the final product creates an adorable shower card that is gender neutral depending on the sentiment chosen. I hope my mom-to-be friend likes it!

For more on Heart 2 Heart Challenges, visit them here.

Ingredients:

Happy Scrapping, My Artsy Friends!

Only Fools Rush In

Hello scrappers! I am back!!! I had a very successful surgery, and my cast came off today! So, I took the chance to rush into the craftroom to work on a layout I planned out two weeks ago! The first Heart 2 Heart Challenge this month is No Fooling, which is a scrapbook challenge that must include the word fool.

For this challenge, I immediately thought of the song "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley. My husband and I are big fans of Ingrid Michaelson, and her cover of this is one of the songs we deem "ours". We fell in love in one week, were engaged after only a few months, and married a little more than a year after we met, so this song is very fitting to us. I knew I wanted to create a layout with the lyrics handwritten on the page. Here is what I came up with.

I used a lot of stuff from my stash, including a retired paper pack called Ariana. This paper has a very vintage feel, which was perfect for the B&W photo of us the day we got engaged.

I added a cluster embellishment to the bottom corner. The cluster features several retired products and a current hostess rewards stamp set that is compatible with the Artiste Cricut cartridge.

In case you don't know the lyrics to the song, here's a photo with my terrible handwriting. It's pretty awful, but I actually like the way it looks on this page.

The cluster near the photo includes a brand new hostess stamp set that I absolutely LOVE! It's called Paper Hearts, and the only way to get it is to host a party. Contact me if you want to become one of my awesome hostesses!!!

Happy Scrapping, My Artsy Friends!

Happy April

Welcome to a new month! April (the month, not me) is a great time to stock up on your supplies, because CTMH is offering a new deal every single day in April! Each day, a different grab bag will go live on my website, ranging in price from $35-$150. All you have to do is order one regular price item to be eligible for the bundles. The gab bags are valued nearly double what you'll pay, and include both new and retired product! Grab bags will be available for 24hrs and while supplies last only, so once they're gone, they're gone!

While you're at it, don't forget to order my favorite Stamp of the Month, Typed Note for just $5 with a $50 purchase. 

I used this stamp set to create this adorable herringbone card for my monthly card swap.

The herringbone technique is a super easy way to use up those tiny scraps you don't want to throw out. For this card, I used scraps from Brushed, Seaside, and Pathfinding. I matted the design on Black cardstock with a white card base. I finished off the design with some twine.

For the stamped image, I stamped the typewriter and sentiment separately in black pigment ink, and embossed with clear powder. The final look gives a nice shine, which I think mimics the shine of a metal typewriter. 

If you want to try your own herringbone card, I recommend this tutorial. It is really easy to follow.

Ingredients: 

Happy Scrapping, My Artsy Friends!