City Life

Hello Scrapping and Paper Crafting Friends!

This past week, one day I needed a little "retail therapy" and decided to stop into Michael's on my way home from work. My intention was to get a few stickers for a little "gift" to tuck into a friend's birthday card. But, before I knew it, I was drawn in by the display of Heidi Swapp products.....and....(I'm sure you see where this is going, and you're right).... I have some new items in my stash!

Stencil Minis

Color Shine (mist)

Texture Paste

Couldn't wait to start experimenting with these new "toys".... Hope you enjoy seeing a few pics of my first time use of these new "toys" followed by a layout I made with a couple of the items.

Until next time....Happy Scrapping and Paper Crafting!

Let's Get Sketchy - February Week 2

Here's the February Week 2 Sketch from the Let's Get Sketchy blog! Always in favor of putting more than 1 or 2 photos on a page, I loved the fact this sketch had 3 photo frames. Another thing I liked about it was all the layers in the background. After seeing some of the examples by the LGS design team, I decided to try something new for this background.

First, I got out one of my favorite stickable/removeable templates (from BoBunny) and applied some texture paste (by Ranger) to the background.

After the texture past dried, I stamped on top of the paste. This is the first time I've done this and I liked the results. I plan to try this again in the near future as I'd like to experiment with different background stamps and maybe a lighter color of base paper.

The base paper and chipboard frames are both from "Simple Stories." The paper I've had in my stash for awhile, but the frames were purchased just last week at The Paper Forest in Washington, IL (www.thepaperforest.com). Here's how the page turned out! 

Until next time, Happy Scrapping!

BoBunny February Sketch

BoBunny is probably my favorite paper company! While most of my paper stash is all mixed up, I make sure to keep all my BoBunny paper in a special spot -- so I can find it easily.

For this layout, I used the February Sketch from the BoBunny Blog and had a blast with BoBunny Glitter Paste! 

Until next time, HAPPY SCRAPPING!

Scrap Our Stash - February Stash Challenge

The February Stash Challenge on the Scrap Our Stash blog is to draw inspiration from this book cover. I was instantly drawn to the way the animal was holding the title in his antlers, so that inspired my page title. The burst of color in the background was my inspiration to try Color Bursts by Ken Oliver Crafts!

Sometimes, it's fun to try something new. After seeing some samples with Color Bursts by Ken Oliver Crafts, I was ready to see what kind of background I could create for this snow themed page. These powders are pretty easy to use.....

Step 1. 

Sprinkle some powder on your page. 

Absorbent paper like watercolor paper works best, 

and you only need a little bit of powder. 

Step 2. Spritz the paper with water. 

Step 3. Dry paper with a heat tool. (I used my embossing gun).

Here's how the page turned out! Looking forward to doing more with Color Bursts soon! 

Until next time, Happy Scrapping!

Let's Get Sketchy - February Week 1

On January 9th, we enjoyed a beautiful snow fall and our whole family got outside to have some fun. This is the first layout from photos taken that afternoon. Chances are, you'll see another page (or two) with more snow photos very soon.

For this layout, I used the February Week 1 sketch from Let's Get Sketchy. I liked the way this layout divided the background into three sections because I could use several different "snow" related patterned papers.

The snow corner/border punch (by Martha Stewart) was a fun way to accent the main photo corners as well as one of the background scraps. Faux stitching (with the Sew Stamper by We R Memory Keepers) was a quick and easy way to add to the larger stripe of washi tape behind the main photo.

Until next time, Happy Scrapping!

Let's Get Sketchy - January Week 4

With all the COLD winter weather, I thought it would be nice to work with some pictures that reminded me of WARMER temperatures! This page features some pictures taken last July during a trip to Long Beach, California. 

During this visit, I got to see some of the wonderful murals and art work that were featured around the community as a part of Pow Wow Long Beach. If you're lucky enough to visit Long Beach, I recommend putting a visit to the Long Beach Museum of Art at the top of your list. And, if you like to bicycle, you'll probably have the time of your life in this bike-friendly town!

Here's the January Week 4 sketch from the Let's Get Sketchy blog. Because my photos were "horizontal," I just turned the sketch to one side. 

Until next time, Happy Scrapping!

 

Stuck?! January 15th Sketch Challenge

Here's the January 15th Sketch from the Stuck?! blog!

The circles in the background made me want to use some glitter embossing paste and I was happy with the result.