My Latest Layouts

Hey y'all! Hope this Wednesday is a great one! My kids didn't have school today (the UCI bike race is being held in our town this week, so schools in our county are closed today due to traffic).  We met some friends for lunch & then went to the mall (the kids got frappuccinos from Starbuck's). The weather too was great here-a perfect fall day!

I haven't had the opportunity to share my layout using the latest sketch challenge at My Scraps And More yet. The guest designer this moth is Melissa Mann. Here is the awesome sketch she created:

And here is what I came up with:

 

I loved all  the squares & the grid design on the sketch. I went with that for my page.

 

 

I used a mix of papers from my stash. The die cuts are from October Afternoon, Jillibean Soup & My Mind's Eye.  

  

You can win this fabulous prize for entering the challenge this month-perfect for Fall & Halloween!


Enter here for your chance to win!

I also played along with Scrapbook Circle's sketch this month:

 

 

 

I used Studio Calico papers here along with chipboard pieces from My Mind's Eye. The butterflies were cut from a piece of laser cut paper. The "hello" tag is from Maggie Holmes.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stay crafty!!

~Stephanie

 

Be Free-Use It Up Tuesday

Hey there friends! Is it hot where you are? The heat here yesterday & today is unbearable! While we love summer, the heat can be a real drag! (Makes for perfect crafting days!!)

 I am here today to share my latest layout with you. I created a Fourth of July page using the All American flair set from The Crafty Pickle.
I have to admit, I don't create many patriotic pages! They intimidate me, but these flair buttons make the process fun and exciting!! I used three of the six in the set.  

I hand cut several banners to accent the top corner and have one laying on top of my photo. I love how this takes away some of the blank space of my photo. I added a chipboard arrow & the "Happy Birthday America" flair. LOVE this one!

More hand cut banners under my photo act as a matt. I then mounted the "July 4" flair onto a punched scalloped circle. The paint here acts as my journal block.

A pre-printed banner at the bottom & "the Land of the Free Because of the Brave" flair finish off the bottom of my page.
All of my papers are from Authentique with the exception of the "bandana" print grey. That is from October Afternoon. My stickers here are also from Authentique & are from the same collection as the papers. They were received in a kit years ago & I saved them knowing that I would one day need them for a July 4th layout. So sometimes hoarding does make sense!!!!
I started with this sketch from The Scrapbook Circle:


I kept my layout pretty simple and love the dimension the flair buttons add to my page! I could have used them all but wanted to save the remaining three for another page (or maybe cards)!!
Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy the day & stay cool!
~Stephanie

New DT!

Hey y'all! I have been MIA for awhile, I know. Summer came at us in full swing & we just got home from vacation a few days ago. We are all missing the beach terribly now!

 

While we were away, some exciting news was announced over on the CAS-ual Chic blog.

  
 CAS-ual Chic is a brand new fun and inspirational challenge for those who love Utterly Adorable Layers in their design! It is a sister blog of CAS-ual Fridays and about a month ago, I received an email from Michelle asking me to join the team!  There is one challenge a month so you have plenty of time to play along. There are no product requirements and you can make anything  you choose-cards, layouts, PL spreads, etc. The DT will be using CAS-ual Friday stamps & dies & would love to see them in your projects if you have them!
The first challenge goes live tomorrow, so be sure to stop back by!
Have a great night!
~Stephanie

KG Love

Hey y'all! Happy Friday the 13th! Hope it's been a good day. Pretty quiet around here.
I took treats into Ty's class & Drew & I had lunch. We have no plans for the night, but it is extremely cold here so we may just stay in! Perfect weather to snuggle up & watch a movie!

I want to share my latest layout. I created it using this sketch from The Studio Challenges:

 
And here is what I came up with:

 

I pulled out my Crate Paper Notes & Things 6x6 paper pad. After dropping some gold mist on my page, I chose a few papers to work with. The beautiful gold doily is from Studio Calico. 

 

 

All of my embellishments are a mix of Crate Paper products. The gold glitter alphas are from AC Thicker's-love them!!

    

 

I added some tissue paper underneath my photo for some extra layers. I was so excited to finally use so many CP stickers that I have had in my stash for ages!!

 

 

I have also been holding onto this photo of Leah from Kindergarten year (she is now in 6th grade)! I thought the papers worked wonderfully for this picture of my sweet girl.

 

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a fabulous Friday!!

Hugs,

~Stephanie

 

 

 

Clear Up-The Studio Challenges

Hey y'all! Hope you're enjoying your Saturday. We are staying warm inside as the temps are pretty chilly here! Trying to get things done around the house before we head out to dinner with friends tonight.
I was able to create a page for the current challenge at The Studio Challenges. It is to use what's on your desk at the moment and clear it up! I was lucky, as there is a lot of product and scraps laying all over my desk! Here is my page 

I used the remainder of the October Afternoon paper from the Farm Girl collection that was left from a previous page. The other papers are from my stash & were on my desk to punch from. I grabbed them & cut & scattered them around my photos. Before I laid anything down, I "painted" my cardstock with gold mist. I love doing this as the result is thin, not as thick as paint on my page.

The AC Thickers were laying on my desk, as was the "3" tag from Crate Paper. The stickers are all from an American Crafts Dear Lizzy sticker stack that has been laying on my desk for months  
because I love it so much!

 My snowflake punch from Martha Stewart is getting quite the workout this winter & I never do seem to put it away!! The glitter cardstock is also a seasonal favorite.
  

These sweet enamel shapes from My Mind's Eye were screaming to be used!!

These photos always make me smile! We had just gotten our puppy, Nellie & she was about 10 weeks old here. Ty, being a typical three year old, couldn't decide if he loved her or loathed her! On this day, when he was trying to build "snow castles" & she was eating them or knocking them down, he was very upset with her & definitely leaned toward the loathing feeling!

Hope you  have time to craft this weekend!!
~Stephanie     

Friday-YAY!

Hey y'all! It's Friday-YAY!!

I have two projects to share today featuring flair from The Crafty Pickle . The first one is a card that I made for my daughter who is trying out for her school gymnastics team this week! She was nervous & pretty certain that she wouldn't make the team, so I wanted to make her a card to give her a little extra encouragement!!

I started with this sketch from Cardabilities:

    

 

I used my Martha Stewart punch to create the branches in the background. The "shine" flair button is from TCP & can be found here .

I love the combination of colors & textures here! Hope she enjoys the cad too (even if she doesn't make the team!) I will always be her biggest fan, regardless!

 

My next project is a layout that started with sketch from Sketchabilities:

  

I just love a good sketch & this one really caught my eye! Sketchabilities is also teaming up with the challenge site, White With One for this sketch challenge. You are to use white & the color "placid blue". Here is my page:

I used scrap papers from my stash (I am on a roll using them up nowadays!) and the flair here is also from The Crafty Pickle.

The "snapshots" flair is from their adorable Bright Everyday set. This set comes with 6 buttons that are prefect for any layout, card or PL spread!

 The "shake your flakes" flair button comes by itself & is the perfect embellishment for all your winter projects!!  It's too cute!

I added in other embellishments to complete my page and give it more dimension from Elle's Studio, Pink Paislee, October Afternoon & Studio Calico.

 

Thanks for visiting on this Friday!

~Stephanie

 

   

  



Use It Up Tuesday-October Afternoon

Hi y'all! Hope you are having a good Tuesday. The kids had another snow day here today! We got about 2 inches but it is all melted now! We were able to squeeze in some sledding at our favorite spot though this morning. The kids had a blast, even though the hill eventually turned into a mud pit! They had a snowball fight too. We came home & got into dry clothes & then went to lunch at Panera with some of their friends & my sister & nephew. They are now watching a movie while I scrap! All in all, it's been a good day!

My latest layout was created for the "label" challenge on October Afternoon's blog.
Since it is my "UIUT" post, I pulled older papers & label stickers from my stash.

 

These papers are from the Farm Girl collection & the labels are from several different collections. I used them around the page to do my journaling on!

To give my page some dimension, I added a doily behind my photo with some twine on top & an arrow sticker on top of the twine. A couple more label stickers allowed for the date & a sweet sentiment for my kids. My 2 LOVE Great Wolf Lodge & ask to go there every summer!! 

The glitter alphas are Thickers from American Crafts.

 

I am loving all of October Afternoon's blog challenges! They are helping me use up my stash & break into new products too!!

 

Have a wonderful night & craft on!

~Stephanie   

 

    

Use It Up Tuesday-October Afternoon

Hey y'all! So it's Tuesday & I am trying to stick to my new installment blog posts-to use older products from my stash. Today I am sharing a layout I made for a challenge at October Afternoon which is "what's old is new ". Perfect for my Tuesday post!!
I used older papers from their  Sassparilla collection. I have loved this line since it was first released & still do today!

I splattered some white paint on the woodgrain paper; matted my photo with the blue paper & then white cardstock & from there, added in embellishments & small details.

 I punched several hearts from white cardstock & used the negative paper here.

The "medallion" on top of the doily is hand cut from a piece of OA paper.

The stickers here are from a sticker sheet from OA's Woodland Park collection.

I took the hearts & placed one on top of another with pop dots to give it some extra dimension. I love the white against the dark wood grain paper!

 

Thanks for visiting today! I hope I am inspiring you to use "what's old" in your stash.

Scrappy hugs,

~Stephanie  

 

Bumper Cars-More Bella Blvd

Happy Hump Day y'all!
We got a small amount of sleet/freezing rain early this morning so the kids are at home today. There is a chance for more this afternoon but I am hoping that does not happen! They need to go back to school tomorrow- I need them to go back to school!

I have another layout to share using Bella Blvd's Lucky Starz collection.
For this one, I started with a sketch from My Scraps & More Sketches.

I started with white cardstock & splattered some black mist. The triangles were cut from a piece of BB paper. I like the way they give the page a feeling of movement.  

 

 

 The chipboard pieces here are from UmWow Studio.

 

 My alpha stickers are also from Bella Blvd & the acetate word diamonds are from Studio Calico.

  

The cork "way to go" phrase is by Scrapbook Circle.

These photos were taken in spring of 2010 at an area amusement park. Ty & my nephew LOVED the bumper cars that year & rode them numerous times this day! They had so much fun & created great memories! I wish they could have stayed that little!      

Thanks for visiting! I so appreciate it!
Create on!!
Stephanie

Use It Up Tuesday-Bella Blvd

Hey y'all! Hope you are staying warm in your neck of the woods. It's a cold & blustery day here. Another good one for staying in and crafting! 

One of my (many) resolutions this year is to use up scrap supplies that I have been hoarding. I love new & pretty products, but what's the point of buying them if I never use them?! So I am going to test out a new installment on my blog called "Use It Up Tuesday". I will try to post a new project a few times a month using older products. 
So today I am posting my first "Use It Up' post! I created with Bella Blvd's Lucky Stars . This is such a fun collection, perfect for creating layouts of kids &  their many activities!! 

I began my layout with this sketch from My Creative Sketches

The orange cardstock really helps these fun papers pop off the page!

My son had his 4th birthday party at a local Childrens' Museum & the kids had a blast with the parachute.

I distressed the edges of the patterned papers  to give it a rough fell, like little boys had gotten a hold of it! Ha ha!

My alphas are also from Bella Blvd. I added in some colored sequins & two flair buttons from The Crafty Pickle . The wood veneer banner is also a hoarded item, from Pink Paislee.

 

The die cut heart & "what a wonderful day" tag are from Elle's Studio. I added a chipboard beanie hat (this reminded me of little boys) from UmWow Studio.

 

 

        My journaling is tucked inside of the glassine bag. I embellished it with feathers & a wood heart from Studio Calico, a fussy cut star from the Bella Blvd collection & a mini clothespin from Crate Paper. I don't always like for my journaling to show, so these bags tucked away on a page make the best solution! 

It's so hard to believe that these photos are almost 4 years old! Ty turns 8 on Friday!! I am in disbelief & a bit sad that that little guy is gone. : (  But I enjoy his antics & zest everyday! 

Thanks for stopping by! Stay warm!!
~Stephanie