Inspire

It is such a happy day when a child discovers the fun of reading!  There is so much to learn, so many places to explore, and so much fun to be had!  Both of these girls love a good fairy tale with dragons, knights, kings, and of course a delightful princess!  My daughter loves to read to her little girl and inspire her to read on her own.

I started my background with gelatos and a baby wipe.  My script was done by adding Orange and Blush ink to some homemade texture paste.  The stencil is from Bo Bunny.  The heart and title were cut from Artbooking cartridge.  I wanted the title to have some shine, so I heat embossed it.

The CS's are from BoBunny and CTMH.  I embellished with the lined library card and sparkle flourishes from CTMH, Prima flowers, and BoBunny gems/pearls.  The jute was from my stash and colored with Prima Color Blooms Glistening Waves.

This LO is off to the following challenges:

Rochelle Spears May Tic Tac Toe:  Jute, Flower, Line Paper

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge:  Use a Cricut die cut and flowers


Stuck On U Sketches:  Die Cut Challenge:  Mothers:  This is a picture of my daughter and her very special girl.

Scrap Our Stash:  EMBOSS
     Embossed title
     Metallic gel pen
     Blooms by Prima, Book, Blue gems, Bo Bunny paper
     Old library card embellishment that is lined, Orange ink
     Sparkles Flourishes from CTMH
     Script Stickable Stencil, Shape of a heart

Thanks for coming by my blog today!  Feel free to browse other posts and leave a message if you like.

Mothers!

Mothers are the ultimate "multi-taskers" with their busy lives!  They have to be to get everything done and still have a moment to breathe!

This card is sort of a visual statement of that fact!

I started with Colonial White.  The 2nd layer is a quilt made by weaving together 8 strips of paper from CTMH Hopscotch and CTMH Fundamentals.

Over that I made a fan of 4 pieces of CS with the top piece of the fan being a mom looking so stellar!

Laces, flowers, washi tape, a sequin, pearl and button embellish the card.  
Yeah, that's a mom's life, alright!  Lots of things to do, but in the end it's all tied up nicely in a bow looking all neat and pretty!

Uh,,,,,,sometimes!

This card is off to the following challenges:

Heart 2 Heart:  Mum's the Word
Just Us Girls:  Word Week - Twine
Pile It On:  Mother's Day or For a Lady
613 Avenue Create:  Anything Goes optional feminine

Happy Mother's Day!

Buttons, Books & Butterflies

Over at Cut It Up, we're all about those die cuts; but today we're about using those die cuts and adding cut paper piecing to your project!  Yes, you read that right....two kinds of cutting today!

This is my first project as a DT Member at Cut It Ups and I want to say I am delighted to be a part of the team!  These crafters are wonderful women and I have truly enjoyed meeting them through their projects and internet communication.  It is an honor to be included and share my projects with you!

This cute stamp is called
New Heights from
Gorjuss Urban Stamps.

I paper pieced this little girl by stamping her on a piece of white cardstock (CS).  Then I stamped her again on the yellow pattern paper (Brushed from CTMH) focusing on the dress of the stamp.  I didn't need to stamp any other parts of her or the books.

Then I used Copics and CTMH alcohol markers to color the image except for her dress and hair.  I fussy cut the dress from the pattern paper and attached the dress.  I colored the hair last since part of her hair is on the dress!

I've not done any paper piecing before, but I really enjoyed it!

My background paper is made from Colonial White CS.  I stamped the words, letters, and flourishes in Barn Red.  I laid out all the letters on the Fiskars Stamp Press.  That way I could duplicate it on each corner easily.  Next, I went over the entire piece with gesso I had tinted with Honey colored ink.  I put in machine stitches on the sides and distressed my edges.

I tore and rolled my edges on the top and bottom and added some ribbon, lace, and paper to add interest.

Most embellishments on this LO are from stash.  I can tell you the butterfly and flower sticker are from CTMH as well as the the stamp sets.  The gems on her dress are Bo Bunny Citrus Jewels.


Oh my, I almost forgot the die cut....it's the largest piece on the LO! The book was cut on the Cricut using the Cursive 101 cartridge.  The back is CTMH Fundamentals in Smoothie; the script paper is retired from CTMH Always.

We can't wait to see your take on paper piecing.  Come on over to Cut It Up to meet the new Design Team and check out all the beautiful projects.  Then you have until May 13 to link up your project for an opportunity to win a gift certificate from Pretty Paper Pretty Ribbons!

Thanks for coming by today!

Mothers!

Ok, this is a bit 'snarky' but perfect for the challenge over at Cut It Up and they certainly are cutting up with their theme of funny cards this week!  Now you may be asking where my cut is .......ah, it's the card itself!  

So, here is a brief pictorial description of how I did that in Cricut Design Space.  

Easy and fun; perfect for this Mother's Day card!

Material List:

CTMH Papers:  Hopscotch, Crystal Blue Fundamentals, Colonial White, Sunset,  and Sorbet 

CTMH Stamp:  Mother's Day

CTMH Inks:  Sunset, Archival Black, and Hollyhock

CTMH Embellishments:  Aqua Dots

Misc Embellishment:  Lace from stash

This card is going off to the following challenges:

Cut It Up - funny cards

Fantabulous Cricut - Celebrate Mom

Heart 2 Heart  - anything goes using CTMH

Just Us Girls - pic at the right is our inspiration.

Pile It On - same pattern different ways.  I used a paper that had this done for me!  The pattern is repeated in different sizes and colors!

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes with optional humorous sentiment

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

"snap"

It's a grey, rainy day out there; but not in my scrap room!

Scrap Our Stash has a fun, vivid challenge for us this month; it's not only a sketch but also an inspiration photo!  This photo is full of bright, vivid colors and patterns galore!  You can see it posted below.  It truly is a gloom buster!

This really is a stash scrap!  I've had this paper forever and decided it was time to get it out to go with all the color in my photograph!  The background card stock (CS) is from DCWV Blossoms and Butterflies.

The daisy looking flowers are cut from Art Philosophy on the Cricut. The other flowers were fussy cut from the Blossoms and Butterflies CS.

I chose to leave the white border on my picture when I trimmed it and then backed it with black to set the photo apart from all the color!  There's a lot going on in that background!  ; )

I used a diagonal stripe blue paper from stash to lift the entire focal point off the background.  The green ribbon was also in my stash as well as the buttons and gems.

My title was cut from the Cricut Paisley cartridge.  All solid colored CS is from CTMH.

Photo Inspirations:  Vivid colors, Pink!, dots, stripes, flowers, and happy.

Thanks for your visit today!  Feel free to stay awhile and check out my other posts.  Questions or comments?  I'd love to hear from you, simply post below.

Have a happy day……how could you not after looking at that inspiration photo?

"simply Purrfect"

I'm so excited to back at the craft desk!  I've been so busy working horses getting ready for spring I haven't had much time to craft.  But I'm back and happy to show you a piece I've been making for my sister to give as a gift.  This layout is for her friend; my plan is to frame it in a 12 x 12 shadow box frame.  

I started with Bo Bunny Gabrielle Fairest paper.  I added scraps from CTMH Seaside and DCWV Rustics Stack.  The design in the paper was a bit prominent for my title to show well, so I used some gesso to push it back a bit and then rubbed over that with some Champagne pigment ink to tone down the white.

I cut a stencil using the paw cut from Four Legged Friends.  I then used homemade texture paste mixed with Chocolate and Sunflower inks to make the paw prints across the page.  

The vine was cut from the Cricut Holiday Cakes Cartridge.  Purrfect is from Create a Critter and 'simply' is from Graphically Speaking.  

Those little flowers are from Prima, but I inked them with a little Hollyhock and Sunset ink to match my papers.  I also removed the wooden centers to replace them with green epoxy bubbles.  The embellishment on the left hand corner over the twine was from my stash.  It was bright gold so off to get the gesso again!  I mixed gesso with Twilight colored ink from CTMH.  I painted that on and then rubbed it with a little Chocolate ink.  The mocha gem was added after all the painting.  I used the same painting procedure on the CTMH frame around the "memories" from the Seaside zip strip. 

The wood piece above the title is from Bo Bunny (colored with Bo Bunny Bronze Shimmer Spray). The beautiful green ribbon is from Linnie Blooms and the hemp/twine is Darice.   The wide ribbon up the left side is Offray.  

The piece of cardstock directly behind the photo is a piece of CTMH Fundamentals.  This cardstock has a resist pattern on it.  I rubbed Twilight ink over it and the lighter blue shows the pattern.  How fun is that!

The stamps are CTMH You're the Bomb and Choose Happy.

I had a great time mixing different papers, products and techniques for this LO!

My inspiration was obviously my sister asking me to make this, but 123 Get Scrappy inspired some of my elements!  They have a tic tac toe board.  I chose the top row across.  

Thanks for coming by to visit today; feel free to browse my other posts if you like.  Questions or comments?  I'd love to hear from you; simply leave your thoughts below!                                                                                                                                                  

Smells like a barn!

No fooling...... it does!  No, really!  I teach therapeutic horsemanship and we do class work as well as horse work and it all takes place in the barn.  We watch videos, do activity pages, read, and have oral quizzes.  So, the barn really is my classroom!

I  love this paper from CTMH.  It's called Chalk It Up and it's adorable!  All the paper is from that pack.  The little chalkboard with the writing and the book are from the Chalk It Up Compliments.  The banner is made from CTMH Baker's Twine and the flags are from Linnie Blooms.  I was lucky to win them from a prior challenge!  I stamped them using a star from the CTMH Take Note stamp set.

My clipboard was cut from shapes in DS.  The shapes can be found in Art Philosophy.

My LO is off to Heart 2 Heart where the theme is No Fooling.  It's also going off to Scrap our Stash where we are to use items to spell out the word STAMP:  Stars, Stamp - Adorable Backgrounds, Twine, Art Philosophy Cartridge, Metal Ring on the clipboard, Patterned Paper.

Elegant

I love this picture of my grandparents from the 1920's!  I'm working on a book for my dad; it's slow but sure at this point.  I need to check out a few more facts before I journal this one.  I believe it was taken outside of the mortuary where they were working at the time, but I need to make sure of the state before I do any writing.

This background paper is from BoBunny.   The large parchment flower is from Prima, but I glitzed it up with some seed beads.  The little flowers by the birdbath are from "e".

CTMH embellishments include:  Oceanside Sequins, Baroque Brooch, Aqua Dots, Small Flourishes.

CTMH stamps include:  Amour and Fabulous You.  The paper strips are also from CTMH.

This was inspired by the challenge over at 123 Get Scrappy.  I chose to go with the top row.  I used lace from my stash, mint color background, and there are feathers on the birds.  Ok, that last one was a stretch!

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!

Rainy Day

Rain, rain, go away!

Ah, yes, Springtime in the Midwest where the temperatures change by 20 degrees within a few hours; rain falls, snow falls and the sun shines all in the same day!  Gotta' love it!

But what is cuter than a little girl skipping along with her umbrella in the rain!

This LO was done with CTMH Cotton Candy, Whisper, Sweet Leaf and Daisy White Cardstocks.  The stencils were cut from Artbooking and the stamp is CTMH Adorable Backgrounds.

The splashing rain is homemade texture paste.

The umbrella Cricut cut is from Nate's ABC's with some little petals from Art Philosophy and some pink glitter gems embellishing it.  Rainy Day is from When I was a Kid.

The pink, metal flower is from the CTMH Brushed Assortment.  I also put in a little strip of Silver Shimmer Trim.  The little blue gems are STILL left over from the wedding!  Yes, those will be around for a long time!  ; )

This LO is off to the following challenges;

Heart 2 Heart:  How Cute -  I think that little girl in the rain is pretty cute!
Cut It Up:  Spring - anything but a card and use a die cut

Thanks for coming by today!  Hope it's warm and dry where you are!

grateful

I went backwards in time a few years with this pic.  This is one of Keith's HS Senior pics; he's a Sr at Purdue currently!  I never scrapped this one and thought it was long overdue!  Of course, there are pics of my daughter I haven't scrapped yet, also and she's older. Oh well, they'll stay in iPhoto 'til I'm ready!  ;)

This sketch is from Scrap Our Stash.  The challenge is to follow the sketch and use gold embellishments.  I hope you can see the gold spray I've used in the layout and the gold brads.

This was one stenciled, sprayed, heat embossed, sewn on the machine, hole punched, frayed, inked,,,,,, you get the idea.  There's a little bit of everything on this LO.  The stamp sets and card stocks are from CTMH and DCWV Rustics.  Denim is from an old pair of jeans.  Burlap and shimmer trim are CTMH, also.

Ok, it's a really nice day outside.  So, I'm out to work in the barn while the weather is cooperating!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Going Green, but not St. Patrick's Day!

Tis the season to go green, but I didn't have any St. Patrick's Day cards to send or any LO's to do.  So, I'm going Christmas with my green!

I used lots of green in this project including Sweet Leaf, Pear and Topiary inks along with the Pear and Brushed polka dot paper from CTMH.

The die cuts are from:
Tickets: Artbooking with Yuletide Carol WOG Stamp Set
Stamp and Ornaments:  Art Philosophy with Home for the Holidays SOTM
Title:  Artbooking
Tree with Bow:  Winter Frolic

CTMH Embellishments:  Sequins from Lollydoodle and Baker's Twine.
Other Embellishments:  Sparkle gems and sequins from stash.

There is also an old die cut on there and I'm not sure where it is from!  I had used it on another project and saw it in my box.  The color was right, so it was included along with the scrap of green behind it!

This LO is going off to the following green challenges!

Craft Hoarders Anonymous  Go Green

Stuck On U Sketches  Lucky green with die cuts.

Heart 2 Heart  Green with Envy

Live Out Loud!

The directive has officially been handed down.  I am in charge of my nephew's scrapbook(s) for his graduation.  Luckily, he's still a Jr so I have lots of time; but I don't want to rush at the last minute.  I'm going through old pics in my iPhoto and scrapping away!  There are lots of awards pics as well has music photos to scrap!  Ah, the fun has just begun...

The challenge over at Heart 2 Heart is to use your favorite sketch.  I have to say, I really enjoy sketches.  They are such great springboards for a project.  This LO happens to be a simplified take of the LO in the Spring/Summer 2014 Idea Book page 21.  This says it comes from pattern 15 in the Make It from Your Heart Vol 2.  I don't have that book.  I could borrow one from my daughter, but I was in too much of a hurry!  I'm a little like Varuca from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!  Patience is not my strong suit when it comes to waiting to make something!  ;)  

Anyway, I like this sketch because you can simplify it or glam it up with lots of embellishments.  Maybe I'll do the same sketch with a different twist on it.  Hmmmmm......... wheels are turning!  Actually, most of my LO's from sketches are variations.  Not because I'm that creative, but because I'm somewhat dyslexic.  My brain just can't seem to translate what is on the book/computer screen to my eyes and then to my hands!  I failed mechanical drawing in MS because the elements would be there, but never in the right places!  Oh well........back to the matter at hand....I have digressed!

I started with Pacifica CS and used my sanding block to sand over the Woodgrain Embossing Folder. Then I mixed up some Sky Re-inker, Create a Shade Pearl Paint, and a few drops of Rubbing Alcohol to thin down the mixture.  I used a paint brush to splatter the CS.  The Pearl paint gives it a metallic shine you can't see very well in the pics.  I like it since the trumpet has shine!

The filmstrip is from Artiste.  I backed the large photo with Black and Fundamental Glacier CS's.     

Thanks for coming by.  Many more LO's of my smart, talented nephew to come!  

My Sister!

 I'm back at it in my Crush Book again!  I know I always talk about how much I enjoy this book, but I do!  The hearts are texture paste and this book takes it like a pro.  I load the pages with embellishments and such and it always stands to the challenge.  You just can't say that about all art journals/books.

I was inspired by the Challenge over at Heart 2 Heart where the theme is Opposites Attract.  For me, this was all about my sister and me!  She was the tall, thin, pretty one.  I was the short, stockier, cute one.  She is strong in Science and very smart; I was more creative and excelled in music.  She was popular; I was an oboe player!  ;)  (Really, think back to that kid who played oboe in your HS band.  What?  You don't even remember him/her?  You do and you thought he/she was the nerdiest person you'd ever met?  Yeah, that was--is me!)

Anyway, you get the idea!  We are pretty much opposite of each other.  However, we both love ice cream and share it quite frequently!

This page, although it's in the Wildwood book, features the Brushed papers and compliments.  The flower is made from some old fabric and has a center piece from the Wander compliments.  The letters are from Artbooking.

Thanks for coming by today and give your sister/brother a call!  You know she/he would love some ice cream!  ;)

Our Secrets!

There's nothing like the secrets a little girl shares with her horse!  This layout, inspired by the Frosted Designs challenge, has lots of room for written secrets to be stuffed down in a pocket to look at later!

The challenge is to use recycled items and a homemade flower.  My home made denim flower is made of old light-weight denim and a button.  So, my flower is recycled!  I also used some old torn lace in the layout.

Thanks for coming by to see my Scrappy horse Thunder and his girl!

The background paper is Prairie Chic from Bo Bunny and the other flowers are CTMH.

The Professor's Studio

Here's a throw back Thursday on a Tuesday!  ;)  

This is a pic of me when I was in college a few years ago......ok, maybe more than a few!  My son's impending college graduation has me looking back at some old photos and I decided it was time to get this one in a layout.  This pic was taken in my oboe professor's studio.  I was caught off guard when a friend came by and snapped the pic while I was frantically cramming before my instructor came back with his tea.  Wow, seems like another lifetime now.  How does an oboe major end up where I am today..........a therapeutic horsemanship instructor?  Yee gads!  How life twists and turns.

Oh well, I can't complain; it's been a very interesting life thus far!

 Sketchabilities provided the sketch layout.  I started very closely following it and then things took a turn.  Hmm..... sort of like my life!  hahahah

Color My Heart provided the colors.

I started with Whisper CS and streaked it with Daisy White Pigment Ink.  I stamped over it with Slate ink (I don't have any Whisper ink) using the Universal Backgrounds stamp.

I turned to my Cricut for the cuts and font using Black and Daisy White CS's.  I believe most of the cuts come from Quarter Note.  I have a subscription with my Design Space and sometimes I don't write down which cartridges I use.  I wish DS had the ability to click the cut once in the layout and display the cartridge name.  That feature was in CCR, but they didn't seem to put it in DS, unless of course I've missed it.  Please share if you know it does indeed exist!

My embellishments include:  CTMH Epoxy Bubbles, and For Always Fabric (the flower).

Off to dig out more
old pictures!  Have a great day!