011616 CKC January Challenge #3

Challenge #3

Get your stamp on with repeat, 

I say, repeat stamping!

  

For me this challenge prompt IS a repeat, lol.

I inadvertently piggybacked this onto my Challenge #1 page.

I used 10 stamped frames for my list of faves page HERE.

So? back to the drawing board!

When I made my kit this month I didn't include any alphas.

My intention was to use my homemade Project Life-style cards as titles, like so:

(Just in case you might think those little flowers are stamped, 

they are simply fussy-cut from one of the She Art papers in my kit.)

My repeat stamping effort was concentrated on the hot air balloons.

I used three different stamps from 7 Gypsies, Glitz & an anonymous wood mount.

I practiced a little with second & third generation stamps to soften the images.

By using this technique you also visually push some of the images further into the background.

One of the reasons many of us hesitate to use our stamps is invariably they 

come out smudged or incomplete on a page that we've put a lot of time into. 

Yes - I stamped these AFTER I did the rest of the page!

No nail-biting allowed. There is always a remedy of one sort or another...

These two balloons failed to stamp a large prominent section of the image.

On this page I was able to just plop cloud bandaids on to camouflage the fail.

Sometimes I will draw the missing portions or use a white pen to visually erase extra marks. 

Gird up your loins & go for it!!! We are all about using up your stash, and STAMPS COUNT.

So let me leave you with the final product.

Apologies for the awful photos - this really looks amazing irl!

(If I get time I will re-shoot & remove these comments)

Fear not! Break out your most amazing stamps & have an inky play!

Thanks for stopping by!

010616 CKC Challenge #1

(She's a good start, isn't she?)

Challenge 1:
Make a project showcasing a list of the top 10 (or more) 
things that make you smile. 
(I had a little senior moment & somehow tacked on
a future challenge which shall remain nameless...)

Remember that I mentioned that I may not need alphas in my kit this month?
On this layout one of my forged Project Life-style cards does duty as my title.

I chose ten random things that make me happy that I encounter in my daily life -
a little nod to the Project Life/planner vibe going on this month.
 

 

In for a closer look at my little thumbnail photos...

#10 Birch trees
My sweet hubby cut me some birch wood to go with my collection of art that includes birch trees.

#9 English transferware and #8 My purple clothes

#7 My fun armload of bracelets and #6 Chocolate covered cherries

#5 My inspiration wall and #4 My fragrance, Lovely, by Sarah Jessica Parker

#3 My grandmother's dishes that we use every day and #2 My favorite coffee

#1 My life verse, Psalm 40:2-3
I traced the little heart from a Heidi Swapp mask & fussy-cut it.

I noticed my washi tape is coming up :(

Okay! Your turn! Make sure to link up so we can give you some luv.

Thanks for stopping by!

010416 CKC January Forgeries Tutorials

Well, this was definitely a very fun collection of embellishments to forge!
You may remember that I chose the Scarlet Lime October 2015 Planner Kit.

Let's try the tassels first.

The larger one was made with yarn.
I was blessed to inherit my dear Aunie's craft stash, so yarn I have in abundance.

The smaller tassels were finer, and wrapped with golden thread.
I used a full skein of embroidery floss & I didn't even take the packaging off!

Simply threaded a 7 Gypsies (I think) trinket safety pin through either end,
slid the paper holders to the center, tied off the heads of the tassels
at each end, then simply cut the full skein in half! Couldn't have been easier.

 Next  I made some tabs from the patterned papers.

I used the negative of an October Afternoon sticker for a template.

 

 

I will add an appropriate word or sentiment when I use them.

 

Finally I pulled this stuff to work on some Project Life cards.

Something new from Tim Holtz: Idea-ology Small Talk stickers.

Hope you find something in the inspiration kits
that sparks you to create your own custom version.
We're all about the counterfeits at CKC!

Thanks for stopping by!

010116 CKC January Counterfeit Kit Reveal

From all of us at Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog:

Aaaah, January... planning lots of scrapping this month.

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to choose one of

 kits from Scarlet Lime as your jumping off point for inspiration.

We are not specifically making planner kits this month, but the lively colors & patterns 

of Christy Tomlinson's creative kits should be a delightful inspiration for your use.

Let's take a look inside the Magic Blue Box!

I was fortunate to have an old 6 x 6 "She Art" paper pack by Christy, 

so I took the easy way out & used that as my foundation.

I added embellishments based on the inspiration:

October 2015 Planner Society kit

Here's my January 2016 "Less is More" kit.

You may have noticed the absence of alphas.
I may not need them! I will leave you with that bit of mystery...

Don't forget to tune in on Monday for our Forgeries on the Fourth post,
where you can link to posts that can help you make your own favorites
 yourself by shrinking, not growing, your stash!

Only two more stops on the hop, hop, hop!

Susan: http://littlethingsbigdays.blogspot.de/

Stephanie:  http://skylinepaperie.blogspot.com

Susanne:  http://snapsandsnippets.blogspot.com

Clair: http://obstinatepursuit.blogspot.co.uk/

Jemma: http://just-jimjams.blogspot.co.uk

Julene:  http://julenebydesign.blogspot.com

Kelly: http://66.147.244.112/~honeysv0/

YOU ARE HERE: Leslie:  http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.ca

GO HERE NOW: Lisa:  http://lisahausmann.blogspot.ca

          Margie:  http://scrappinmargie.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by!

010116 Archi-scraps January Challenge

Well, another new year - another clean slate - another opportunity to resolve to improve...

Use watercolours. 

I don't mind if I do!

At first, I was thinking of something artsy & challenging.

I can really spend a lot of time thinking about this stuff without doing anything, lol.

I found this fab yet easy-peasy technique on Pinterest:

LINK

As usual, my vision took a few detours. 

I wanted to use these photos with this quote.

I tried a few combinations with the doily paper I created but wasn't happy with any of them.
And that washi in the first photo left a nasty sticky residue, sigh...

Do you ever reach that point when you have to stop forcing something to work & move on?
(That happens to me a lot - I guess you could call me a random scrapper.)
I reluctantly put the photos & sentiment away & went in search of a new image to scrap.

I still loved the doilies, though, so I decided to fussy-cut them & make a banner.
That would help me knock out another Whimsical Musings prompt #181 - be inspired by banners.

Well, the fussy-cutting went well, but my banner idea went South... sigh.
 I started all of this so early & was now getting nowhere FAST!
Here's the image I chose (which of course I forgot to photo until the page was done)
I went downstairs to scan the original so I could adjust the exposure.

This was where I was heading but was not liking the colors with my doilies...

I continued to sub in papers until I was happier, then went to check them with the photo.
Yet that impish little photo that had run off & hid somewhere - seriously???

I had just about given up & was going to throw a card together but decided just to go to bed
& work it all out in the morning (well, later in the morning as it was 2 a.m.)

Amazing what a good night's sleep will do for your creative brain.
Also what it apparently can do to cause an impish little photo to reappear - whew!

Without further ado...

Although this photo is truly one of my all-time faves, I'm not sure how crazy I am about the layout.

I added some hand stitching for texture & a custom stamped border lifted from my uber-inspiring scrappy friend, Susan. Visit her blog Little Things, Big Days for a mega dose of creativity.

Even my photographs turned out poorly.

I hope you have better luck than I did!

Please share your creation with us at Archi-scraps.

Thanks for stopping by!

121715 My December Daily Progress

It's been a quiet month here on the blog. Busy, busy, busy with shopping & parties & visiting the Saginaw area sharing the gospel &  inviting people to First Baptist's big Christmas program.
If you aren't in the area please join us via livestream Sunday, December 20th 6:00pm EST!

My post over at Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog about my December Daily
includes a slide show of my pages but I wanted to add some personal & crafty details here.

Day One: This year we are going with a much more neutral & natural Christmas decor.

Day Two: Such a precious shot by El of the boys in a sweet moment.

Day Three: We are trying to invite the entire community to our Christmas drama this year.

Day Four: It's always so much fun to get the first Christmas card in the mail! 

I even saved the cute stamp & included it on the page.

Day Five: First party, so I crafted a festive shaker pocket.

Day Six: I used a patterned transparency to get two titles on this one day. 

Where the letters showed from the other side I added some hearts.

Day Seven: I love this bicycle propped by the fence, so this year we decided to string it with lights!

Day Eight: Favorite eatery in Gladwin where we are greeted by a black bear at the door.

Day Nine: Sally surprised me with goodies! 

Day Ten: Sad day - Blondie & Barbara moved on to greener pastures.

Day Eleven: Our little man is 4 years old today!

Day Twelve: Finally getting the tree trimmed - it has stood there bare in the living room for a week.

Day Thirteen: Finished decorating in the living room.

Day Fourteen: Dara's party! Made some new friends :)

So much inspiration out there, but I especially love Let's December Daily.
Be sure to visit the link!

It's been a great December so far!
Enjoy the season of the Saviour's birth.
He IS the reason for the season.