Scrapbook Process: Selfie Challenge

With homeschooling, birthday celebrations, and other Design Team challenges, I haven't had too much time lately to do any other challenges. However, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to participate the latest "Make It Monday" challenge at The Memory Nest.  This time, the challenge had a sketch and the theme of a "selfie."  I had the perfect photo from Halloween!

All items on this layout (paper and embellishments) are from American Crafts.  

The challenge is open through the rest of November, and if you participate, you will have the chance to win a gift certificate from The Memory Nest!  

Scrapbook Process: Crazy Hair Day!

There were some photos that I took of my youngest son last summer on a day he was attending Vacation Bible School.  That particular day was "Crazy Hair Day" and with lots of gel and hairspray (with his thick hair that needed a cut desperately!) this is what we came up with:

The bandanas were to given to the kids to wear during the week to signify what team they were on.  Since Josh got orange and it was such a bright color, I had a difficult time deciding how to select papers for this layout.  As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I was looking through my paper stash over the weekend for some inspiration and during that time, I discovered a couple sheets of Crate Paper with orange, green and brown.  With the techno-looking circles, I thought it would be a good choice for a boy layout and wouldn't look too much like autumn.  

In addition to the Crate Paper, I found some other miscellaneous chipboard and diecuts to make it look more boy "cool".  Again, the title is with American Crafts Thickers, and I used my Signo Uni-ball White pen (really the best to buy) for the journaling.  

What was the last Crate Paper item that you purchased?  What's your favorite Crate Paper collection?

Scrapbook Process: Boy Pages with a Lime "Twist"

Over this past weekend, I was going through my paper stash and got inspired again by papers I had left from My Mind's Eye "Lime Twist".  This collection is a great to use if you have boys -- it's very versatile.

With this new inspiration, here are three layouts I created.  I didn't follow any sketches -- I just went where the photos seemed to take me.  

This is the left page of a two page spread.
The title uses American Crafts Thickers. (Love them!)

This is the right page -- with a mixture of papers and matching diecuts.

This is another page that I layered two of the papers together and added the coordinating diecuts.  

Don't forget that you can cut a frame from one of the layers so that you aren't using an entire sheet. I have one sheet left of Lime Twist left along with a couple diecuts -- but I need just the right photo!  

Hope these layouts give you some inspiration to get out some of your paper stash and use it!  

Have you used some of the Lime Twist?  Share a link in the comments to your blog so that we can see!  

Card Making Process: Let's Take a Walk in "City Park"!

Simple cards seem to be what I do best.  Sometimes I can get in one of those moods where I can really put together a fancy, well-embellished card, but those with simple stamping and cute patterns are the ones that I make the most.  (They also mail the easiest, too!)

On Spring Break last week, I needed to make birthday and everyday cards for my stash. My mom also likes my cards, so I make several birthday cards for her to mail too!

These cards are cute, simple, with a little bit of patterned paper on the inside too.  Just enough to send a quick, short and sweet note to someone:

All these papers are from the American Crafts "City Park" collection, another one of my favorites in which I totally bought more paper than I will probably use!  The flowers are from K and Company and I used stamps from Hero Arts. 

When you make cards, do you often mix several patterned papers?  I'd love to get your opinion! 

Scrapbook Process: Three in One - In the Sun

This is a first -- I completed the "trifecta" at Design Dollies today!  The trifecta is one entry combining all three of this week's challenges:  color, element and sketch.  

The colors were royal blue, aqua and orange.  I was to incorporate watery waves and then follow the sketch on yesterday's post.  WOW.

So here is the final product --

Once again, I dove in my paper stash to use something that was sitting there for awhile (blue dotted paper).  The orange polka dot paper is from a Chloe's Closet paper stack.  And of course, Thickers!

Scrapbook Process: Van-tastic Layout

We are having our monthly crop in our CafeMom group this week, ending Friday.

For one challenge, I was to complete a 12x12 layout to represent my time in the car.  LOL!  So this morning on the way to the mailbox, I grabbed my camera and took some "representing" photos!

I liked how it turned out . . . especially since I used very old paper that I'm too stingy to get rid of!  The flower is made out of a small strip of crepe paper, and I was thrilled that I had matching Thickers! (LOVE Thickers!)  Feeling quite proud of myself, I went to post this photo, only to discover that I didn't quite exactly follow all the rules!  Yellow was to be the main color, with a choice of adding just two colors (purple, green or blue).  I added all three colors, and I don't think my yellow is quite predominant.  However, I keep trying to get our CafeMom group moms to think more outside the box with what they scrap, so I need to do that too.

Scrapbooking Process: Texas Snow!

I leave near Austin, TX, and on February 23 this year, we had a REAL snow day!  The snow came during the day (instead of at night and gone by morning as in the past) so our whole family could spend time in the afternoon playing!

This weekend I was at an evening crop at Scrapology (http://www.scrapologytx.com/) and got some layouts finished, including the snow photos!

For this layout, I used Heidi Grace printed papers, the blue double dot paper from Bo Bunny, Thickers for the title and snowflakes from a Christmas Cricut cart.  The inspiration came from a great book I just picked up called "Kick it Up - Adding Spice to Your Scrapbook Layouts" by Greta Hammond and Angelia Wigginton.