A Few Layouts

Hello everyone!! I haven't been blogging, though I have had the time. I lost my card mojo. I get so mad at myself when this happens. I attempted to do some challenges but I wound up throwing them all away. (Yes, I do throw things away if I cannot save it. It kills me sometimes because of the time it takes to create!) I even have some fun new-to-me products sitting on my desk too, but nothing was shouting out at me to use.

I also have not been crafting because I sprained my ankle exercising the other day and have had to keep my right foot elevated for the past three days. I now have to wear a boot for the next two weeks. It is very fashionable...NOT!

Today I am going to post three layouts that I worked on in between my failed attempts at card making. Sometimes I have to go between crafts for me to get my creativity back. Does that happen to you?

All products from all pages were purchased from Scrapbook.com, with the exception of the frames on the dog page. These were purchased at Designer Digitals. Scrapbook.com has been my go-to place for scrapbook supplies for some time. When I buy, I tend to buy a lot. Shh Shhh-don't tell my husband!

My first page is a birthday page. I layered patterned paper by Bo bunny over a fun Crate Paper base. My process for this was to find the photos first, trim them and then arrange the patterned paper pieces freely over the base paper. I don't do this enough and I should because it was fun.

(supplies)

I have other photos from this birthday that I plan to put in pocket page protectors. I will journal about what went on at the party at a later date. (dinner, bingo, cupcakes and make your own sundaes) I just did not feel like getting into it on this page.

I think one of my favorite parts of this layout is the transparency over the left photo. I even ordered some different kinds last week because I had a blast playing with them again. I might even try to use one on a future card.

The second layout features my dog, Zack, whom I call Stinky. Why? Well, he is constantly getting into stuff and is a "little stinker," hence the nickname. His many escapades are a source of amusement for the kids I work with.

This page is about how Charlotte won a pet photo contest at her orthodontist office. We took Stinky outside and had a little photo shoot on our deck so we would have the "perfect photo." To get the "kiss" photo, we put peanut butter on Charlotte's nose!! I then let Char choose which photo she wanted to enter into the contest.

(supplies)

This page is really simple. I layered paper, some die cuts and used another transparency over the photo that won. Don't you love his underbite?

I saved my favorite page for last. These photos are not the best and so I cropped them into circles. They were of when Charlotte and our neighbor had a lemonade stand. Char and the boy did this frequently and made a lot of money. One time they made $20 each!! The two of them were so cute, shouting at the top of their lungs to people walking or driving by.

(supplies)

I started off by misting the paper. I did not love where the mist was going so I misted a craft sheet and used a paint brush to place dots where I wanted them on the background card stock. I have seen this technique used on cards so I figured I would try it on a layout.

I then had a blast die cutting circles out of different pieces of patterned paper. Circles are my favorite shape! I used no rhyme or reason when I laid them together with the photos. I just adhered them down right away as I placed them. I am really pleased with how it all came together.

Well, that is all for today. I hope you all have a great night!!

Nora

Inspired by this weeks Retro Sketche #122-a Thank You Card

Happy Tuesday! The weather does not know what it wants to do today so it is a good time to hide in my craft room. It is hot and humid out and has sprinkled on and off most of the day. It actually was refreshing to get rained on while I was doing my interval run this morning.

Today I am going to share a card with you that I created using Retro Sketch #122 as my inspiration.

I could not wait to start this challenge because I knew exactly what I wanted to use for the background. I used the MFT's ink splash from their "Abstract Art" stamp set and distress inks to create this fun, faux watercolor patterned paper. This is the card that I created:

I stamped each dot randomly by inking the stamp up, stamping off, spritzing the stamp with water and finally stamping on the watercolor paper. While the stamped image was wet, I re-inked the stamp and then stamped the dot again. Though the process seems intricate, it was really fast and easy to do. This helped to get the watercolor look to the dots. I like that the dots are not all uniform and in some areas are overlapping and in others, there is white space.

After the dots were dry, I used an MFT Blue prints die to die cut the watercolor paper. I wrapped purple jute around the top and adhered it to a dark purple card base.

I then adhered strips of pink, green and dark purple card stock in the  middle of the card front.  Next I adhered a stamped label over it using foam adhesive.

At first I was not going to add anything else but the label looked naked. I decided to die cut and stamp flowers in the same colors as the dots using WPlus9's "Fresh Cut Florals" set. I adhered the flowers using both dot and foam adhesive.

Again, I looked at it and thought it was missing something. Am I the only one like this? I decided the card needed a bit of glitter in the centers so I dug out a couple shades of purple Stickles I owned. My last step was to adhere a few sequins.

I had a lot of fun making this card and will be using this sketch again. Coming up with ideas for the background was my favorite part.

Since I used a ton of die cuts on here, I am going to enter this into Virginia's View Die Cut Challenge #5. If you haven't checked the blog out, run. She is so talented!!

Thank you for looking!! Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!!

Nora

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

Paper Smooches Window Card

Happy Monday everyone!! I hope you are having a good start to your week.

This week I am going to try to get some of my projects done that I have been putting off. I have had three weeks off to relax and now it is time to get some things crossed off my summer list things I need to do to clean my house. I think tomorrow I might start with putting away my china that I have had in the basement since our kitchen remodel a year ago. I have the empty cabinet just not the wherewithal to unpack and put it all away!

Today I am sharing a card I created using the adorable Paper Smooches hamster from the "Party Posse" stamp set. I have no one to send it to but I wanted to give making a window card a try. Like yesterdays post, I am going to share my creative process.

To start off with, I decided that I wanted to make a window card. I had picked out the hamster image to work with right off. I think he is so cute!! I also had this Simon Says Stamp die that I have yet to use so I decided that I would put it to work. Here is the finished card:

I started the card by stamping and coloring the hamsters from the Paper Smooches "Party Posse" stamp set. I have to admit that the coloring was not fabulous but I knew that two of the hamsters would be just peeking out of the circles so it didn't have to be perfect.

Here are the Copic Colors I used to color this cute little guy.

I then fussy cut them out of the paper and used glossy accents to adhere google eyes onto the hamsters.

While the eyes were drying, I took out all the supplies I wanted to use and die cut the window circles out of yellow polka dot paper.

Now it was time for assembly. I started by adhering the red flower border to the left hand side of the lemon yellow card base.

Next I took the polka dot paper and adhered the two hamsters in the first two windows. I played around with the placement until I found the one I wanted.

I turned the panel over and loaded it up with adhesive foam. I have a confession to make here. It killed me to use as much foam as I did. I am cheap and try to conserve my supplies. However, I wanted to make sure that the panel was not only secure but would not sag in any place. I am not sure I would be in a hurry to make another card like this just for this reason.

I then took all those little green papers off and adhered the panel to the front of the card. I then placed the word balloon that I stamped with these new stamps my friend. Before I adhered the last hamster, I used a craft knife to cut around his little hands. I then placed a small heart in between the paws.

My last step was to use a clear Wink of Stella glitter pen on the sentiment and glossy accents on the heart.  Didn't this come out so cute?

Some things I learned while making this card. First, I need to see if their is a die cut for this little guy. It would have made it so much easier!!

Second, I think if I try this again I might make it a shaker card. I am using enough foam tape so why not go all the way!!

Third, I used a Spica glitter pen on the "Birthday" part of the sentiment. I think I will use a different type of marker to color it in. It might have looked a bit better.

That is all for today. I hope you have a happy and productive Monday!!

I am submitting this to Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge.

Nora

Supplies:

InLinkz.com