Layout Share: Daddy's Boots

Here is another layout I created from those older pictures I found of my son. I had originally planned on doing something different with these when I grouped them together with a poem several years back, but they never got finished, so I changed my approach and I love how they turned out. This layout was created with scraps that I had left over from some papers I used earlier this year.

I cut out the strip along the bottom from a larger sheet of paper when I originally used this collection and instead of leaving it as a straight border, I trimmed around the orange circles at the bottom and added a punched white border of stars below.

I added the title and dates with tiny alphabet stickers. I love how the yellow letters just popped off the page and tied in the colors in my son's sweater.

 The title was placed on a journal card that was left over from the same collection. I just backed it with white cardstock and trimmed it so it had a thin white border, then added the silver brads.

The journaling was written on a scrap piece of vellum that I attached to the layout just under the border and the title block.

Supplies Used:
Fancy Pants Like Father Like Son Collection (all scraps) -Strips, Be Strong, Cards
My Little Shoebox Mini Alpha Stickers: Pearl
Martha Stewart Classic Stars Edge Punch
White Cardstock, scrap vellum
CTMH Silver Brads
MS Black Permanent Marker: Ebony

All products from personal stash.

Layout Share: Who's Shoes?

I came across some REALLY old pictures of my son the other day, so I wanted to create a couple layouts to highlight them. 

It was a really quick layout to create and here's a quick run-down of the details.

I cut the decorative orange strip off the bottom of this owl paper and used it on my layout. 

 I also cut some skinny strips of the hanging clothes from the main pattern sheet to use in 3 places on my layout for emphasis. I love how these strips had pictures of shoes and socks hanging from them too. To highlight these small strips, I punched holes in my layout with a paper piercer and used the backstitch with some red DMC floss. My tiny label stickers were adhered to these strips with small details and my main journaling was added with a larger label sticker. 

To create the title, I used some yellow chipboard stickers for the first word and added the small green alphabet stickers for the second word. Quick and easy! :)

Supplies Used:
Sassafras Lass: Branch Out paper
Cosmo Cricket Boyfriend Collection: Fitting In
My Little Shoebox Mini Alphabet Stickers: Mermaid
7 Gypsies Mini Label Stickers: Naked Color
Jenni Bowlin Red/Black Dotted Labels
Paper Piercer, Red DMC Floss, Black Pen

All products were from my personal stash.

Sketch Share:

This month over at Memorable Seasons, we were given another great sketch created by Liz Chidester.

I love working with sketches and this one was no exception. Here's the layout I created based on her sketch:

I did some different techniques on this layout, so I took some pictures while I was making it so I could share a short tutorial here on my blog. I started with this awesome paper from the BoBunny Cambridge collection:

I wanted to accent it with some reds and deepen the colors a bit, so I cut a circle from some scrap cardstock, then masked off the circle, and sprayed around it with red mist.

I did the same thing, except repeated with a dark brown color and I used the negative part of the circle as a mask to add color to the center of my page.

Once the paper dried completely, I used my sewing machine to add a zig zag border to the circle.

And here's what the background looked like when I was finished:

Instead of using two pictures, I used a photo my son picked out for his school Rock Star project along with his rough draft words. I love that they were handwritten and edited by him. I added a few strips of coordinating paper from the Cambridge collection to ground my photo and his paper. I tied these strips in with the rest of my layout by stitching them on the machine to match the same circle detail in the center of the layout. My chipboard title was placed on top of the small strips at the top. I also added some small yellow alphabet stickers for the second word of the title.

 Of course, the title for this layout needed to be carried through with some punched star accents. Then I had some fun creating some drama with these little silver stars.

First, I used my glossy accents liquid glue to add tiny dots in a swirl pattern.

Then I used a die cut tool that has a sticky end and a flat end to position a star on each of the dots of glue.

Here's what one of my finished swirls looks like:

And lastly, here are the journaling sections I added to this layout:

Supplies Used:

Bo Bunny Cambridge papers:
Victory Cup Dot
My Little Shoebox Mini Alphabet Letters: Pearl
American Crafts Thickers: Platforms Yellow Chipboard Letters
EK Success Curvy Cutters: Circle and Exacto Knife
EK Success Border Punch: Binding Edge
EK Success Star Punch (Lg star)
Creative Works (Sm star)
Tsukineko Walnut Ink Antique Spray: Java and Cherry Blossom
Sulyn Industries: Mini Glitter Stars
Ranger: Glossy Accents
Sewing Machine w/ zig zag stitch and black thread
Sketch by Liz Chidester

All products were from my personal stash.

Halloween Treat Box

This was the last project I created with the Happy Halloween collection kit from Echo Park.

I used an old take-out box template made by Colluzle and cut out the base of the box, then cut out the individual flap papers and glued them to the base. I love that the papers were double-sided, as I was able to get double use from several paper scraps and the inside of the box is decorated too! The finishing touch on the box was the elements stickers I was able to add to both sides, with each side being different.

I also punched holes in the sides of the box and added a narrow green ribbon to create a handle. The treat box was filled with one of my favorite candies to snack on in the fall months...candy corn! These would be perfect for a small gift or a hidden surprise. :)

Supplies Used:
*Echo Park Happy Halloween Kit Collection
*Happy Halloween: Graveyard
*Happy Halloween: Costume Party
*Happy Halloween: Elements Stickers
Coluzzle Cutting System: Take out box template
Making Memories: Green stitched ribbon
Zig Writer: Black
Candy Corn or other treat to go inside

*Products received as Design Team Member. All other products were from my personal stash.

Layout Share: Never Say Goodbye

This was the last layout I created with the Happy Halloween Kit from Echo Park.

The purple colors in this kit worked great with these photos of my husband and I just after we were engaged.

I used a Fancy Frames stencil to trace and cut the decorative edge on the large polka dot paper. This gave me a good base to create my photo collage.

 Along the bottom of the collage, I cut one of the date tags out from the border paper and used it to highlight some of the details. I punched out two hearts and added threaded buttons to them with foam tape. And I wrapped the same string around the ticket before I stuck it to the page with foam squares. You can also see that I punched the edges of the purple stripe paper with a scallop border punch.

For my title, I also used some more punched hearts with buttons and another striped paper punched with the same border punch. The first two words of the title were created with the smaller alphabets in the kit and the main word of the title was created with the larger stickers. I just love the font in these alphabets--so pretty!

I did tuck my journaling into a pocket I created on my layout. I used an exacto knife to cut a slit just above my photos and title, then used a circle punch to create a little notch. Scrap cardstock was adhered to the back of the layout to create the pocket, then I typed up the words to this song and wrote more personal journaling on the back of the cardstock. I love how all those words are included with this layout, but they are tucked away and can easily be pulled out to read.

Supplies Used:
*Echo Park Happy Halloween Kit Collection
*Happy Halloween: Spooky Dots
*Happy Halloween: Bat Festival
*Happy Halloween: Border Strip
*Happy Halloween: Haunted House
*Happy Halloween: Costume Party
*Happy Halloween: Alpha Sticker Sheet
*Happy Halloween: Scary Story Cards
*Basic Grey: Eerie Assorted Buttons
Fiskars Apron Lace Border Punch
EK Success Circle Punch
CTMH Fancy Frame Template
Foam tape, White crochet thread
Pink Paislee: orange scraps from 365 Degree 6x6 pad
Black Cardstock

*Products received as Design Team Member. All other products were from my personal stash.

Layout Share: Clemson Homecoming

I was excited to be able to use this Happy Halloween Kit for a few things other than the obvious Halloween theme. The backsides of these papers all had great tone-on-tone prints or versatile multi-colored patterns and were very easy to use.

I had been saving this ticket from the Clemson Homecoming game for a while now and came across the pictures to put with it. The colors in this kit worked perfectly for these photos. I did photocopy the back of the ticket onto white cardstock so I could put it on the layout too. The ticket was mounted directly to the page with foam squares.

 To create the title of my layout, I used larger black rub-ons for the word "Clemson". To create the word "Homecoming", I altered one of the Halloween themed stickers. This is what it looked like before:

 I used the orange set of alphabet stickers that came with the kit and stuck them down on some scrap white cardstock to create word "homecoming". Then I cut that strip of paper out and adhered it over the word "trick-or-treat" with foam squares.

This gave me a great 3-D look to my title and mimicked the 3-D look of the ticket at the top of the page.

In the picture above, you can also see that I punched the edge of the purple paper with a scallop border punch for extra interest. Then I added my journaling to the page along the top and also at the bottom under my title.

Supplies Used:
*Echo Park Happy Halloween Kit Collection
*Happy Halloween: Spider Webs
*Happy Halloween: Costume Party
*Happy Halloween: Magic Stripes
*Happy Halloween: Border Strip
*Happy Halloween: Scary Story Cards
*Happy Halloween: Alpha Sticker Sheet
Fiskars Apron Lace Border Punch
American Crafts Rubons: Ned
Sandpaper, Foam tape
Black Cardstock
Inkssentials White Pen

* Products received as Design Team Member. All other products used were from my personal stash.

Layout Share: Our Little Pumpkin

I wanted to use the same Happy Halloween kit to create a fall themed layout too, so this is what I came up with:

This layout used the rest of the green scallop pattern I cut from the previous layout background paper. I simple added some strips of the other pattern papers along with a story card from the kit to journal on.

The ribbons shown in the picture above were so pretty! I used them as a border between my photo and my title/journaling sections.

For more details, I added some more of the fall colored flowers and sticker alphabets for my title. I love how you get 4 alphabets on the single 12x12 page with this kit! I also added some random brads to help tie in all the colors I used on the layout.

You can also see how I edged the papers with a sponge and a black inkpad, then I outlined the green scalloped paper with a black marker to help all the layers stand out more.

Supplies Used:
*Echo Park Happy Halloween Kit Collection
*Happy Halloween: Haunting
*Happy Halloween: Jack-o-lantern
*Happy Halloween: Trick Or Treat
*Happy Halloween: Scary Story Cards
*Happy Halloween: Alpha Sticker Sheet
*Prima Flowers Autumn Harvest: Hazelnut
*Basic Grey: Eerie Assorted Brads
*Maya Road Satin Pleat Ribbon: Green
*Maya Road Grosgrain Pleat Ribbon: Rust
Kraft Cardstock
Marvy Matchables Black Inkpad
Zig Writer: Black
Craft Knife, EK Success Circle Punch
WRMK Corner Chomper

* Products received as Design Team Member. All other products are from my personal stash.

Layout Share: Oct 31

Here is another layout I created with the Happy Halloween Collection sponsored by Echo Park Paper.

I used my exacto knife to cut out the green patterned center from the background paper, then I added some purple and orange cardstock to the top and bottom in place of the green center and I cut one scallop row from the green center and used that in the middle of my page. I used my white gel pen to add faux-stitched lines to accentuate the scalloped edges.

 After I had created the base for my layout, I added my photos, then used several stickers from the elements page to create a scene.

Directly under the scene, I added some threaded buttons which served as a border between my scene and my journaling.

I like how quickly this layout came together and how easy it was to use the cards I cut from the collection kit to help fill in areas of my layout and give me a place to journal too.

Supplies Used:
*Echo Park Happy Halloween Kit Collection
*Happy Halloween: Haunting
*Happy Halloween: Scary Story Cards
*Happy Halloween: Elements Stickers
*Happy Halloween: Alpha Sticker Sheet
*Basic Grey: Eerie Assorted Brads
*Basic Grey: Eerie Assorted Buttons
Orange and Purple cardstock
Craft knife, white crochet thread
Inkssentials White Pen

Layout Share: My First Trick or Treat

This month's Design Team Kit from Memorable Seasons was sponsored by Echo Park Paper and we were sent the Happy Halloween Kit collection along with some fun embellishments.

Here is the first layout I created with this kit:

The base for this layout was a circular die cut paper from Little Yellow Bicycle. I used the story cards from the Happy Halloween kit and rounded the corners then sanded the edges so they would stand out against my background.

For my title, I used some of the awesome alphabet stickers from the same collection along with some elements stickers and I glittered them with Stickles glue. I also added some glitter to the flower petals.

The papers I used on this layout were strips I cut from the collection pack. I loved the mix of patterns and tone-on-tone prints.

And this fun monster ribbon worked perfectly with my photo! Too cute...

Supplies Used:
*Echo Park Happy Halloween Kit Collection
*Happy Halloween: Elements Stickers
*Happy Halloween: Haunted House
*Happy Halloween: Border Strips
*Happy Halloween: Scary Story Cards
*Happy Halloween: Alpha Sticker Sheet
*Little Yellow Bicycle: Booville Decorative Edge Cardstock
*Fancy Pants: Trick or Treat Ribbon
*Prima Flowers Autumn Harvest: Hazelnut
Foam Tape, Sandpaper, Date Stamp, Black inkpad
WRMK Corner Chomper
Ranger Stickles: Diamond
Zig Writer: black

* Products received as Design Team Member. All other products are from my personal stash.

Tri Shutter Card Tutorial

It never fails that when I'm stuck creative-wise, that I'll try a new technique or create a card and just play with the products and my creativity comes back quickly! This was one of those cards...I was at scrapbook night at my church and was a little stuck, so a friend of mine was showing some *beautiful* cards she had made and we all started making some! I love how fun these cards are and they are really easy to make once you understand the directions. I drew up a diagram to help explain the directions a bit better and wanted to share it here.

Here is a printable diagram for the Tri-Shutter Card

Now that you have the diagram and basic directions, here are some photos of my finished card.

To begin this card, I cut my cardstock and followed the measurements in the diagram above to score and cut along the correct areas. I did use my Martha Stewart scoring  board and this made it so much easier to score the correct areas. My card was a white cardstock base that I painted with the Orange Glimmer Glam and a paint brush. I love how sparkly and shiny this turned out. Then I glued on the different sized papers according to the diagram above. Once the papers were glued down, I used the stickers from the elements sticker page to create a scene on my card base. Since the scene pretty much spanned over the entire card, I turned the card over and used my exacto knife to cut along the grooves I had already cut in the center sections of the card. This cut through the stickers on the front of the card and I was able to bend and score the stickers so they would easily open and close when the card was opened. The purple jewels were cut from the spider web patterned jewel embellishment with an exacto knife. I placed the top and bottom sections of the spider web on the front panel of my card, just above and below my circle sticker. I also used a few more single jewels cut from that same embellishment for details over the card--the cat's eyes, the tombstone, bats and sparkly jewels for my tree branches. This is such a fun card to just sit on a table top as a decoration. Fun to give and receive! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. :)

These papers and products highlight the kit we were sent as Design Team Members over at Memorable Seasons. We were sponsored by Echo Park this month and these papers were so much fun to use!

Supplies Used:

*Echo Park Happy Halloween Kit Collection
*Happy Halloween: Costume Party
*Happy Halloween: Trick or Treat
*Happy Halloween: Bat Festival
*Happy Halloween: Graveyard
*Happy Halloween: Elements Stickers
*Basic Grey: Eerie Bling It (Lilac Web)
Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam: Paprika
White cardstock, paint brush
Craft knife, paper trimmer
Martha Stewart Scoring Board

*Products received as Design Team Member. All other products were from my personal stash.