You are Thoughtful

I love a good craft challenge. I love it even more when I can use my scraps!  This month's Card Sketch Challenge is a great inspiration for just that. I did several different versions of this sketch: paper (with scraps), paper (using quad prints) and digital.

 



Here I used scraps from other projects.

This card was created by totally cheating and using the quad prints from The Blues.  The paper already comes with four different prints on one page.  I just trimmed the center out to fit the panel.

 

 

 

I even created a digi version to the sketch.

 



 

If you ever lose your crafting mojo...challenges are an excellent way to get back on track!

Holiday Spirits

I've mentioned this before, but I just can't help it. These are my new favorite Christmas stamps! They make me giggle every time I see them. You're probably shaking your head thinking I'm nuts, but these stamps remind me of my Grandpa. 

 

Wally was quite the trouble maker which instantly made him loved by all his grandkids. He was also the rock of our family. I was going through old photos from the 80s and came across one of my dearly missed Grandpa.  He was spiking the punch at Christmas dinner! Yep...that was my Grandpa :)

Club Scrap papers. Avery Elle stamps. Stickles. Copics.

 

 

Merry Christmas Literature Style

I hope you were able to take a look at yesterday's Blog Hop. The rest of this week I'll be sharing some more cards from the Literature Greetings to Go kit. At first I was hesitant about doing these cards with the multiple folds, but then I really started to love the different layers.

 

I misted white paint onto green cardstock and then die cut these trees. I placed then on all the layers in different places to give depth. I wanted to add some other bling to it, but decided the trees were beautiful on their own.  

 

Club Scrap papers and stamps. Stickles. Washi tape.



Inside last fold of card.

 

This next card I used one of my favorite Christmas washi tapes, reminds me of a flannel shirt. That look went perfect with the stitched die cuts I bought over the weekend at the Scrapbook Expo.

 

Club Scrap papers. Prima sequins. Elizabeth Crafts Designs die. Washi tape.

 

 

 

Come back tomorrow for some more Literature Greetings to Go!



Literature Blog Hop

Welcome to the Club Scrap Literature Blog Hop. Join us on the hop to see what this talented group has created using this beautiful collection.  If you've arrived here from the very talented Tina's blog you're in the right spot. If not, make sure you start at the beginning to see what Karen has created for you.

Club Scrap papers, charms, stamps and stickers. Cricut title. Sizzix embossing folder. Sticker tiles. Cork Circles.

 



This layout was created using the layout card provided with each deluxe kit. I made a few size changes to accommodate larger photos on the left hand side. To add interest to the white panels I inked a brick embossing folder and then ran it through my Big Shot. A very cool trick I learned from Pam at the October Technique challenge.

I couldn't just stop there and thought I'd share this Christmas card that I absolutely fell in love with. I'm not even sure it will make it to the mail.  It might end up on the mantel with the decorations. 

 

The card is one of the multiple fold cards in the Greetings to Go set. I saved these for last, not really sure if I was going to do them as is or not. I finally went with it and was really happy I did.  I found this red velvet from a kit a loooooong time ago and die cut flowers from it. Lots of texture and shine! 

 

 Club Scrap papers, stamps, ribbon and velvet. Embossing powder. Gems.

 

Thank you for joining us today. Please continue on to see what spectacular project Donna has created for you using this kit.

Hands Have Held

I fell in love with this quote! I think of my niece every time I read it. So why not use one of my favorites for the Creative with Stamps Sentiment Challenge.

 

I kept the design for this card pretty simple to emphasize the beautiful detailed corner stamps and the that gorgeous black and gold paper. 

Club Scrap papers and stamps. Unknown heart punch. Sequins.

 

 

 

Tomorrow is the Literature Blog Hop! Join us to see what wonderful projects this group has  created.

 

 



 

Catch You by Surprise

I dusted off some of my Copic markers when I saw the stamped images from Literature. I was really disappointed that many of them were dry and the tips just weren't as fine as I would like. So I bought some real cheap coloring pencils at Michaels and was pleasantly surprised. 

I also came across these Nuvo Crystals Drops by Tonic which allows you to create your own colored bead drops. I use pearls, beads and jewels on most of my layouts and cards and found this to be a much cheaper way.  They do take some drying time but well worth it.

 

Club Scrap papers, tags and stamps. Nuvo drops. Thrift store dictionary. Spellbinders die. Artist Loft's pencils.

Fall Pumpkins

Isn't it funny how you accumulate so many digital items that you forget what you have sometimes. While searching for the right embellishments for this fall layout I came across these beautiful fall leaves from the Reunion and the adorable fall flair embellishments. I digitally changed the colors of the background pages from Literature to match my photos and the layout just started taking shape. I love how versatile digital scrapbooking is!

Club Scrap digital papers, leaves and stitching. Simply Tiffany Studios template. Katie Pertiet and Bella Gypsy flair. Chelles Creations banner.

Good Luck

This week's Retro Sketch challenge gave me an opportunity to use up some of the tags and borders from the new Literature collection. I'm trying to plan ahead and made some graduation cards for next year. I know quite a few seniors graduating and I don't want to be in a mad dash for a card.

Club Scrap papers, tags, charm and stamp. Queen&Co. pearls.

 

 



 

Artist Team's Handmade Holidays

Welcome to the Club Scrap Artist Team Blog Hop.  I love handmade holiday gifts so I was overjoyed to get a head start on those gifts this year.  Join us on the hop to see what this talented team has created for the holidays.  If you've arrived here from the very crafty Donna's blog you're in the right spot. If you'd like to start at the beginning head over to Club Scrap see what Karen has created for you.

 

Club Scrap papers, stamps, charm and washi tape. Docrafts calendars. 

 

I got the idea for this project from the Retreat Clipboard Collage. I made it smaller and more manageable for multiple gifts. Luckily I found several pieces of book board in my stash from projects that I knew wouldn't get finished. Didn't even have to cut them and some already had the holes in them.

 

Cover front with cardstock using bookbinding glue. Ink edges if desired.

 

 

I love using these mini calendars for gifts.

They come in stacks that allow you to remove each month as needed.

I also included a mini sticky note pad from a stationery set I received as a gift.

 

 

Using bookbinding glue again, adhere the calendar and post it note pad to the  cover.

This gives the bulky items much more stability than regular adhesive. 

 

Now the fun starts. Add stamps and embellishments to decorate.

The leaf metal charm was adhered using bookbinding glue in the needle nose glue bottles from retreat. No crafter should be without one or two!

 

 Rose from Retreat 2015 color swap.

 Sticky note pad in a stationary set received as a gift.

 

The fun part about this gift was searching through this year's photos for each person I made these for.

 



Thank you for joining us today. Please continue on to see what spectacular handmade project Tina has created for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merry and Bright

I love making and sending Christmas cards. Two years ago I ran out of time and had to use store bought cards. I'm still hearing about it today. Friends and family have come to expect handmade cards from me. So I'm starting early this year! The new Literature collection is perfect with the beautiful reds and earth tone browns.



 

Club Scrap papers, stamp, brads, washi tape and leaves. Queen&Co. pearls.

 



I really struggled to get a decent photo of this card. The clear acetate on the front panel reflects a lot of light making it almost impossible. It was raining out (yeah!) which really limits the light coming in through my windows. (Not complaining...I love it that way!)

 

I chose to do the acetate for a technique challenge over at Club Scrap. This month's challenge was to try different ways of using your embossing folders. I wanted to use other surfaces besides paper. If I get a chance, I might even try using some ink in the folders.

 

 

 If you need more crafty ideas for using your embossing folders, head on over to the challenge to be inspired. Now get out there and emboss something! And don’t forget to add your link at the bottom of the Club Scrap post for a chance to win a gift certificate.

 

 

 

 

Color Burst FMS258

I finally got some craft time in this weekend! It was raining in California this weekend and we received nearly 2"! Our creek is running with water again.

I love the new Literature Greetings to Go collection and my first thought was to start my Christmas cards but I needed a Congrats card first. Stay tuned later in the week for some holiday inspiration.

Club Scrap papers, ribbon, tag and stamps. Dazzles stickers.  

 

 

 

This card was created for the Freshly Made Sketch challenge FMS258. 

 

Collage Clipboard

The Collage Clipboard was my second favorite project at this year's Retreat. I fell in love with the idea of using up all my little orphaned embellishments. All those embellishments that are too bulky for cards and layouts are perfect for this project!

 Class sample

 

The project comes with the printed background and all the paper pieces precut.

 

Ink all the edges

Mine is still a work in progress

 

Terri Zwicker out did herself in the class examples and I can see how she got carried away and completed one for each season.

 

 Have an amazing weekend! I'm hoping for a great crafting weekend!

 

 

 

 

 



Stamping with Chalk Paints

I really had a hard time picking my favorite workshop at Retreat. I was torn between the Collage Clipboard and stamping with chalk paints. I think the stamping won out because I really loved learning a new technique with different art mediums.

 

This is Jacqueline Carney's brilliant work involving stamping with pigment parchment ink, paint slightly over the stamped image and re-stamping in black ink. We received the pigment inks in parchment and black as gifts. Club Scrap is awesome like that!

 



12x12 layout 

Here's my cards from class. 

 

The chalk paint technique is perfect when you need to cover up some mistakes in stamping. So...you'll be seeing A LOT of this technique with me :) I picked up a few cans of paint in the CS Pro Shop but I see myself going to Home Depot soon...

 

 

 



My Apologies

I am so sorry I let you all down! I had every intention of sharing details of October Retreat with you. I decided to travel to WI without my laptop and downloaded the Blogger app on my phone to use instead. That was worthless for the most part. I couldn't get pictures to upload correctly and the whole thing locked up. I did however try to post many photos on Facebook. Retreat was amazing and as usual, the Club Scrap staff outdid themselves! 

 

Here's a short recap with more to follow.

I seriously got off the plane and had to be back to work in 10 hours.

 

 

Loved this Zen-like writing class!

 

The tool Tricia created for this project is a time saver!

Love the stitching for this book.

I don't even know how to describe this paper/fabric used for this cover but I bought tons of it!

 



 

The gifts were very thoughtful and will be well used.

 

Stay tuned for more retreat photos tomorrow!

 

Sunday brunch: Cathy, Tracey, Cindy, Terri and me

 

 

 

 

Curiouser and Curiouser

Could this Alice in Wonderland reference be more true? It's so fun to see life through a child's eyes!

Club Scrap digital papers, stamps and embellishments. Gennifer Bersett sequins. Anna Aspnes textures.

Happy Fall Y'All

I'm hopping on a plane today heading for Oshkosh, Wisconsin!  I am so excited I can barely stand it.  I can't wait to see all the Club Scrap gals and my fellow scrappers. By this evening we'll be meeting up for a wine tasting event and catching up on everyone's lives.

 

Tomorrow Cindy, Cathy, Tracey and I will be jumping in the car and road tripping it to Lambeau Field for a tour, shopping and lunch. I love seeing all the fall foliage as we make our way north.

 

Here's a little fall teaser. We went to the pumpkin patch with my niece and watched her just have a ball with all the animals.  After about 10 minutes of her being there, not a chicken was around to be found! They scattered and the word was out to watch out for the little blonde!

 

Studio DD layout, Meredith Cardall word strip. Club Scrap texture overlay and circles.

 

 



Physics

I'm leaving tomorrow for October Retreat to meet up with my Club Scrap friends! I'm hoping to share some highlights with you straight from retreat so keep your eyes out for some snippets of goodness.

 

I LOVE SHOES! It's no secret. If you know me, the sentiment I used for this card is perfect. I had an incident where I gracefully sprained BOTH my ankles at once wearing the most adorable wedges.

 

I created this card using my Paper Smooches Shoe Die that I absolutely cherish! 

 

Club Scrap papers. Riley & Co. sentiment stamp. Impression Obsession background stamp. Paper Smooches die.

Blueprints Cupcake

Happy Monday!

Can you believe it's October already! I'm so relieved that cooler weather is heading our way. I'll be leaving for Wisconsin in a few days and hope it's somewhat chilly. Of course last year, it was blazing hot and we went to a Packer game in shorts.

 

Towards the end of each month, I organize and put away the remaining supplies from that month's Club Scrap collection. I bring out stamps from other vendors and create some goodies with my neglected stamps and dies. This process allows me to dust off some stamps, find some long lost supplies and also cleans off my work space in the anticipation of the newest release.

 

I'm so in love with the Tim Holtz Blueprint stamps but I sometimes have a hard time creating artwork with them. Thanks to Pinterest I've come up with some fun color combinations.

Club Scrap paper. Tim Holtz stamp and die. Stickles. Copics and Gelatos for coloring and splash. Cuttlebug embossing folder.

 

This card was created for the Card Concept Sweet and Sour challenge. I thought these bright colors would be great for a birthday theme. I chose to do a mixed media style and use Copics, Stickles and Gelatos on my card panel. Even used a drop pearl for the flame.