Monday, February 29, 2016

030116 Archi-scraps March Challenge

Time to play again over at Archi-scraps!

Gesso or texture paste & yellow

Oh, how I wanted to do something over the top & elaborate with this inspiration,
 but the right combination of inspiration & photos never coalesced.

I did, however - at the eleventh hour - take this photo & couldn't resist scrapping it right away.
The yellow cookie frosting convinced me! I have a very masculine take on  this challenge.


I initially tried texture paste but it really soaked under the edges of the stencil.
The gesso left a somewhat crisper image but kraft is definitely NOT a wet medium base!


I chose each man's star paper based on the teal papers I had plus in general on their taste in ties.
Other papers were chosen with men's garments in mind & I also included a stitched border.
That shirt paper was a must-have without ever thinking I would have a use for it, lol.
It is definitely perfect here!


I hope you will join in with us this month.
I always love the different directions the AS prompts take me!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, February 18, 2016

021516 Second Week of February LOAD



Week Two - so far, so good.
I missed uploading due to internet issues but
I'm actually happier with daytime photos of the layouts.
Still 14/14!

 Day Eight: Color/Based on the flag of Canada (red/white + maple leaf)
Perfect for more Alaska trip photos as we went to Dawson City.
I remembered that I had photos with the Canadian flag.
I saw that journaling down the side on the Prima blog, I believe.

Day Nine: Transportation/Train
More Alaska! Chuck wagon breakfast excursion at Denali.
I could not find my travel journal for some of the 
journaling details but have left room... 
There was another couple from our tour that we met this morning
& became fast friends with them - Mike & Marge.

Day Ten:  Culture/Recreation
Thought this would be fun to document some time with our granddaughter in Georgia.
She loves her Bampa! They had a little  teasing game with those pompoms. 
He would ask for a grape & she would give him yellow (lemon). The giggles were thick!
And that breakfast picture was the worst quality but my total FAVE.
The vintage girl with the "Fun" banner was from a Smashbook page.
Lynnette gave me some design advice for the little striped banner.
Could not believe that I found the little Prima clock button - Bampa TIME!

Day Eleven: Language (he spoke to her heart)
Another one of my favorite photos of Chloe.
I love the dreamy quality of this page, including the star vellum strip. 




Day Twelve: Landmark
Had to add that touch of gold in the title!
It took awhile to get the photos arranged & I added a simple skinny washi border top & bottom.
I stamped a contour map stamp from an Inkadinkadoo set onto the large wood veneer numbers
for a little texture, plus the black splats of Black Velvet Colourshine.



Day Thirteen: Geography
A very happy day spent with the lovely & generous teacher, Finnabair.
Took myself out for the day & got to play!
The left side of the spread was inspired by THIS from Alison Day with three large photos.


Day Fourteen: Food
Alaska, again.
That antler embelli is from a Felicity Jane kit & couldn't have been more perfect.
Although it's difficult to see I punched a semi-circle in the "reindeer sausage" raised
portion of the title so that the ampersand flush with the background could be seen.
I included a portion of the Anchorage city map to show the hotel, tram stop & visitors center.

I'm late posting this but mostly this is for me to enjoy down the road!
Hope it was fun for you, too :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

021616 CKC February Challenge #3


Challenge #3:  Say What Challenge...
Pick a quote or a fun family saying and base your project on that!

My daughter sent me a funny video of my grandson the other day.
I couldn't quite understand what he was saying at the end.
When she told me,  a scrapbook page was born!


I used a few of the journaling cards in my "International Romance" February CKC kit.
The photo mat "love this love this love this" is a 3x4 journaling card cut to stretch it across.
I think Master Forger did this on a page, so I guess I've counterfeited her, lol ;-)
It's a great way to use up all of those cards that accumulate so rapidly. Layers, people!
I fussy cut some items from October Afternoon's "Library Card" paper in one of my spare 8x8 pads.


In this "Time Capsule" episode of Peppa Pig they create a video for posterity.
She says, "Hello to the future! hee hee", so now whenever they videotape Lincoln, that's his line!

The grandkids just crack. me. up.

Thanks for stopping by!



Monday, February 8, 2016

020816 First Week of February LOAD



Through the first week of LOAD!
I prepped a little differently this time.
I browsed through my digital photos & collected some stories.
Alas, I forgot to get adhesive!
Finding creative solutions with that, lol...

Day One: Color/Based on the flag of The Netherlands (red/white/blue)
 I scanned in the 1988 photo of my daughter & paired it with the 2012 photo of my grandson.
Don't you love it when you find the perfect Then & Now photos?
Not a whole lot to say beyond the whens & wheres.
The red interior border is washi tape plus I stitched down those small letter stickers.

 Day Two: Transportation/Airplane
What else but a page about our flight above the Arctic Circle?
A little airplane paper clip starts your eye across the line that I stitched for emphasis.
I scanned a hand-beaded keepsake I bought there & fussy-cut it for an embelli.
The coordinates as the title was an idea I had seen a long time ago - so perfect here!

Day Three: Culture/Music
I kept these ticket stubs since 1986 (!!!) but had no photos from
back in the days of film & developing costs & no cellphone cameras, lol. 
The venue has changed completely since then from 
a wonderfully intimate setting to an arena so no help online with that.
The title is a play on the name of a collaboration of the two artists.

Day Four: Language
 Our favorite restaurant closed last year - bye bye in Italian.

Day Five: Landmark
Throwback to my days of working in a high rise in San Francisco.
The original photo of Patty & I had deteriorated into a mostly orange print.
Add to that the backlighting problems & this was the best save I could manage.
I should call this, Ghost of Basic Gray, as the background is vintage BG & they have closed.
Added just a tad of stamping to fill in those awkward empty spaces...

Greg's Aunt Iva is a legend in the family.
The homestead is still owned by family & we hope to visit it one day.
I rarely use a collection but this is mostly Carta Bella's 2013 Happy Trails.
It's a nice heavy weight paper which allowed for a lot of distressing.
I couldn't resist using that perfect petticoat lace!
For anyone who saw this elsewhere, yes - I added a cow... & changed the title...

Day Seven: Food
SO enjoyed a troll through my stash to find the perfect elements for this page!
I think I got away with the pink because of the kraft's testosterone ;-)
That starburst paper was a forgery in one of my Counterfeit Kits.
I toiled in PSE for far too long to create the "Pinspired" word, but I think it was worth it!

So far I'm rumbling right along & ENJOYING the daily creative play that only LOAD brings.
Have had a chance to visit a bit in the gallery & found some new inspiring scrappers to check out. 

 Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, February 6, 2016

020616 CKC February Challenge #1



It's time for the first CKC Challenge for February!
 
Challenge #1: Sappy Movie Inspiration
 Come on..admit it...we all love at least ONE sappy love movie (or even cartoon).  
Use your favorite romantic movie to inspire your next project.
 You can use the title, where it takes place, journaling ideas, identifiable icon...you name it!

 I'm not sure why I enjoy twisting these challenges, but I must confess that I do.
Sometimes I am looking for a story that would never otherwise get scrapped.
This story is definitely iconic in our family lore so I am delighted to get it down on paper!

Okay, so this is my sappy love cartoon inspiration:

Pepe Le Peuw & Penelope in Paris
Today he would be considered a stalker, but Pepe was simply relentlessly confident of his charms.
 He prompts a rather unlikely (& unromantic) story embodied in this little keepsake given by a friend.


Journaling:

One year we had an endless spate of skunk sprayings at our house.
Perhaps skunks migrate a little each year after they have fouled their territory?
I can't know the cause but it was inescapable & rudely pervasive.

We babysat Paige a number of times that summer & she quietly ingested the noxious fumes.
One day she was riding along with her mom in the car when the familiar scent wafted in.
She made the logical assumption: "Mom, are we at the Smith's house?"

That phrase has become the standard comment when any of us smell skunk. Millie got
such a chuckle out of the story that she presented Greg with this little token of
 our Skunk Summer.


At first glance it may not look like this came from my kit, but you may
recall that my Felicity Jane stash was on reserve (the b/w strip & dots.)
My favorite elements on the layout are the tongue-in-cheek roses coming out
of the chimney,  fussy-cut from on of my kit papers & that vertical "skunk" stripe :-)


Added some stitching to keep those alphas on the page plus a subtle texture on the journaling.


Lovin' all the gold bits, even if they are tough to photograph.


Well, I hope I have widened the scope of your sappy love inspiration!
And this is just because I love you...

aaah, cheri...  (teehee)
Link up your sappy scrappy take on the prompt at Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, February 4, 2016

020416 CKC February Forgery Tutorials



LINK
February kit gave us some really beautiful things to counterfeit this month.
Most of my kit papers were kept to 8x8" size.

Maggie Holmes Bloom collection - "Moments" paper
 I decided to do both the "A" & "B: sides.
I was fortunate to have an ancient pink ombre paper in my stash,
although I was prepared to forge it by gradating the color with patterned papers.
My paper trimmer & Martha Stewart fringe scissors will make this go quickly.

I cut the paper into 1-1/2" strips as I wanted an 8x8" sheet when finished.

I then used the specialty scissors to cut fringe, leaving an extra 1/4" of paper
for adhesive to stick each trimmed-to-size row down to a plain white 8x8" base.

I cut a waste strip 1" wide & clipped it on the base so that I could space the rows evenly.



The "B" side was achieved by using my kit stamp set & white paper.



Next I tackled these. (Aren't they gorgeous?)

Maggie Holmes Bloom collection - Fringe Hearts
 I used the largest heart punch I had included in my kit tool box to create the base.
I used the extra 4" from the pink ombre paper, gold scallop washi, one of my forged 
papers, book paper, and I even made a piece of tiny dot paper with a marker for my layers.
The fringe scissors worked their magic & saved me a lot of time.



These IKEA arrows are my favorite forgery this month!


 (I think I rather outdid myself with this one, teehee!)
The originals were 8" long so I just scaled down to using toothpicks for my arrow shaft!
Just a little bit cut from a corner of paper & folded & trimmed became my points.

The "feathers" were just cut freehand. I get so used to grabbing a punch or a die,
I forget that simple shapes are a breeze with just a pair of scissors :-)
Worst case? You waste a small piece of paper - no risk!
I didn't even use the fringe scissors here as these were so small.

The gold dotted paper on the feather at the top was done with a  pen.
If you see something you like, don't be afraid to do a simple homemade version.

I don't know why I am so compelled to recreate elements from the kit each month,
but it is definitely as satisfying as creating the scrapbook pages/projects made with them.

Choose just one thing from the inspiration kit this month & give it a go!

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, February 1, 2016

020116 CKC February Counterfeit Kit Reveal


Now that I've had my annual quiet & peaceful January refresh,
I am itching to get up to my happy place & scrap!
I love how painless tackling some pages is when using my Counterfeit Kit.

And speaking of   
L - O - V - E 
let's not forget that it's February, the
  L - O - V - E  
month!


The fab & very exclusive February kit from our UK scrapbuddy, Emma Clark, at

http://www.mindthescrap.co.uk/

yielded some wonderful opportunities to commit some forgeries.
Let's see what's in the Magic Blue Box this month!


 First the inspiration kit papers -
a combination of Amy Tan's "Better Together"  & Maggie Holmes's "Bloom" lines.


Now mine: 


I chose to do both the "A" & "B" sides to give me a little more paper to work with.
Row 1: *Glitz Uncharted Waters, *October Afternoon Public Library, Pebbles Jen Hadfield, *Glitz Love You Madly
Row 2: forged fringe paper, forged text paper, Shimelle hearts, unknown scrap
Row 3: navy construction paper, blue Bazzill w/Color Shine added, bookpaper

*I included these 8x8" paper pads in my kit.

Here is the full International Romance kit:





Most of the extras in my kit are supplies I have hoarded - ahem - COLLECTED
from my monthly Felicity Jane kits. I have the rest of my FJ stash in reserve.
I thought the brushstroke card was a perfect stand-in for the transparency.

I also put together what I am calling my tool kit - literal tools like stamps, punches,
fringe scissors & a gold pen - along with Maggie Holmes "Open Book" chipboard.
A few more things could make their way in before the month is out!


A collection of alphas, including a stamp set, and I am ready to scrap.


I know it looks like a lot of product, but this month is a LOAD month, aka LayOutADay.
Although this is Lain Ehman's final LOAD the members at ScrapHappy are continuing the tradition.

I've already made my first layout with this kit for the February Archi-scraps challenge!

Now follow along with the rest of the hop.
You know that Lisa will once again have put together a stunner of a kit.
The Team hopes to see YOUR own custom-made kits in the Linky soon!

CKC blog
Leslie you are here
go here now Lisa 
Susan
Thanks for stopping by!