SKETCH OF THE WEEK MAY 26-31

First the sketch and then some other stuff! Trying to play a bit more with colours for me and mixing up the patterned paper.... it's always good to step outside my comfort zone! Hand journalling is another big issue for me so this one forces me to do it.

I did manage to get a layout done on Friday night. I had been out of printer ink and couldn't print out any pics at home so once I got that fixed, it helps get me scrapping again. I love being able to print all different sizes at home - definitely more convenient!

We have been having beautiful weather here for a change so we have been packing up picnics and heading to the park - I LOVE SUMMER! At the grocery store, I picked up a magazine that I have only bought once or twice before called Scrapbooking and Beyond and immediately fell in love with this layout

So I googled her name (Robbie Herring) and found her blog with the lovely layout on it! Some of the girls on the forum were wanting a quick challenge so I posted this one and told everyone to scraplift it - I will ask the gals that completed their layout if I can post theirs as well but here is my scraplifted version! (I couldn't get a straight picture of it if my life depended on it so I gave up) Don't forget about the BLOG CANDY that is getting ready to be shipped out!!

SCRAPPY GEAR

Okay, so I found the funniest thing today - a t-shirt place that has wayyyyy too many funny scrappy sayings on clothing! I saved some of the funny ones but you really need to go check them out!

Aren't they hilarious??!!! Which one is your fave?

SKETCH OF THE WEEK MAY 18-24

I almost forgot that it was Sketch Day today as it is a long weekend here and I have been on a cleaning spree! I have been avoiding scrapping a bit lately so I am feeling the need to get down and dirty and create a grunge page! I have had some requests for a 2 page sketch so if you are only into one pagers you can create 2 separate layouts or else choose a side and have a go!
Don't forget to leave a comment HERE and sign up as to follow my blog for some great Blog Candy!! I need one more follower to add to the goodies!!! Hope you all have a great week :)

MORE PRESENTS!

Apparently I am avoiding scrapping but seem to be doing okay in the gift-making department! My landlady is home from Poland for a little visit so I wanted to make her something to thank her for being so awesome - last year I made her some coasters and candles similar to the ones I posted yesterday but wanted to do something different this year so I made her a little box with 10 cards in it! Some of these cards are the first ones I ever made so I added a little bit here and there to them and some of them are from a card swap that I was in and so I added my own little touch to them. I am happy with the turnout but now that I am posting, I seem to be missing a few cards in the pictures....but too late to get them now as I have already given her the gift! Hope you enjoy :)

The little box:

Some new cards:

And some old cards with some new added touches:
The paisleys are embossed but I added the white pen stitching around the flower.
I think this is one of the first cards I ever did. I changed it a little by pop-dotting the tag and piercing around it.
An old one from a card swap. I just added dimensional pearls in silver over the stamped image and Stickles to the butterfly.
Another one of my first ones I ever did, added some SU dazzling diamonds to it.

I have no idea what that weird dark mark is on the left hand side.... this is one of my first cards I ever did....I couldn't think of anything to add to it so I just popped a couple brads in it! I'm missing some pics of the other cards...too bad, they were pretty!!!
Hope you are having a great weekend - I am attempting a new recipe for supper and it looks like a quiet evening in store.....with a touch of scrapping added in!!

WANNA KNOW WHY?

I haven't scrapped once this week! Not once...wanna know why?

Well, because of this:
And this:
And this:
And this:
And then this:
(there's lots more of that to show you but you will have to wait!!)
And then there was this:
And lastly...well it's because I am in a funk.... and I seriously need to get myself out of it. It is a long weekend here and my boys are having a friend sleep over so I'm thinking that while they stay awake till way too late, I should too! Here's to a scrappy weekend :)

SKETCH OF THE WEEK MAY 11-17

I feel the need for .... white! I rarely use white on my layouts and I am determined to do it this week! I am apparently also stuck in my browns though as I didn't avoid that this week! Do the colours that I put in the sketch influence your versions? Would it be better to just have them in black/white/grey? Always nice to hear constructive criticism! Make sure you check out the BLOG CANDY POSTS as you wouldn't want to miss anything (THIS ONE TOO) !

More Candy!

Wooohooo.... time to add more candy since I promised to add more for each 5 followers!! Make sure you check out my I'VE GOT CANDY post to read all the details. Adding into the basket today is this cool little embellishment (I used one in this layout) from Junkitz:


I have a pile of stuff to throw in so I hope to see the followers list grow!! Will be back later to post the Sketch of the Week - hope you are having a fabulous Monday!

DESIGN TEAM REVEAL - GOIN' GREEN!!

Alissa had a great idea for our Design Team on the forums this month as there has been a lot of talk about the turn of the economy and "affordable" scrapping. Our challenge this month was to do RECYCLABLE SCRAPPING!
She assigned each of us different projects using recycled products to really try to show all of you what you can do with old scrappy stuff that you had put aside and even items around your house!
For this month's projects, I created a coaster wall hanger, a name plaque for my daughter, a wooden box for my paints, and 3 different layouts using many recycled items!

First up, the name plaque. I went shopping at Value Village and found this artwork and snapped it up for only $3.99!

I came home and sat down to make the plaque, very excited. I finished it but needed to put it all back together and sand and paint the frame but one of the dayhome kiddies had a little "incident" and sad to say, the frame didn't survive :( We have been searching everywhere for a new frame but no luck so far.....poor dayhome kiddy's mommy has been searching everywhere and I am feeling bad for her so someone please come up with a cool frame idea?! Here is my daughter's new name plaque, still frameless but cute!
Next, a wall hanging using coasters from a restaurant! These were a bit hard to come by as most restaurants are also facing hard times and are cutting costs but I finally found some and made this for my mom. I actually woke my son up so he could write on it for me. He wrote the words and I went over it with a Versamark pen and embossed the words so they would stand out better. All the paper is at least 2 years old and was in my scrap bucket! This is a very quick and economical project!
Hmm... the lighting looks off on that, will try to get a better pic later! And a close-up of the writing:
My third project was to alter a wooden box. This box just called my name as I was wandering around Value Village! It looks very old but it is super sturdy and I just knew it would be a great carrying case for paints and inks at crop and altering it would be fun! It looks so pretty sitting on my scrap table!
The plain box (bought for $3.99!):

And altered:
And a close up of the rubons, dimensional pearls, dew drops, and stickles!
And finally the layouts!
This layout is based on a SOTW and was super-duper recycled!! The pp is from my scrapbox, the paper clips are from the junk drawer and the journalling strips were actually a paper bag that I cut into strips!! If you look closely, you can see the seam of the bag on some of the strips! That tree is based on the tree that is on my blog! The tree is from a cardboard box - if you peel off one of the layers, you get the corrugated look which I loved for a tree!
And I loved how this turned out so much that I created a second one at the National Scrapbooking Day crop - but from memory and it came pretty close! I didn't have a paper bag on hand so I used kraft paper!
And my last project, a very rare pic of me! My son took this one last summer and I knew I had to scrap it, as much as I hate pics of myself! This one was stamped with bubble wrap and paint, the flowers were recoloured using alcohol ink and the brown bracket was actually in my scrapbox as a leftover from a Stampin Up Open house that I went to where we used the Big Shot dye cut and it was the outside part! Never throw your scraps away!!!
Hope you enjoyed the projects! Please be sure to check out Annik's and Jerusha's projects too - we gave Deedee the month off as the baby in her tummy is giving her mommy a rough go of things - feel better soon Deedee!!

TECHNIQUE THURSDAY!

I had this all ready to go on Tuesday but somehow forgot about it...so it is Technique Thursday this week :)

This is a new technique with my ever-favourite ALCOHOL INKS!!! You will need:
Glossy Cardstock - photo paper will not work as glossy cardstock has a layer of clay in it so that the ink will not absorb into the paper
Alcohol Inks - the best part about them is that they dry almost immediately and the colours won't bleed into each other! Brights will work best with this technique.
Can of air -like the kind you use to clean your keyboard!!
Archival or Staz On Ink - to stamp over the bursts once they are done.

And you can create cool things like these:


Simply place a drop or two on at a time and hit it with a burst of air! Keep playing till you get the look you want and you have pretty cards or even a background for your scrap page!

The dragonfly card was done with 2 shades of brown, a slate and then a metallic copper. The copper is a bit harder to "blast" but was still fun! Make sure you have a craft sheet or at least newspaper underneath as it can get a wee bit messy!!! Have fun!

I'VE GOT CANDY!!

Okay, so I am breaking down and adding the "FOLLOW ME" application.... We are having a little contest over on our forums and have asked for our members to invite their friends to follow the Design Team blogs. One of my favourite ways to blog surf is to click on the "Who's Following" people and find their blogs. I have found a lot of very neat blogs that way and am looking forward to some more. So to entice you to sign up, I have a little BLOG CANDY to give up!

• If you sign up to FOLLOW ME, your name will be entered for the draw.
• If you leave me a comment here, your name will be entered for the draw.
• If you refer a friend and they FOLLOW me, your name will be entered.
• IF YOU ARE THE FIRST PERSON TO TELL ME HOW TO MAKE THIS POST STAY AT THE TOP OF MY BLOG, YOU WILL EARN AN EXTRA DRAW!!
  

Just be sure to tell your friends to tell me that you referred them! So what kind of candy do I have??? Well.....I will start off with some goodies and then for every 5 followers I get, I will add something!! Right now in the goody basket, I have:

2 pieces of Riff Raff
1 package of Thickers
2 bottles of Stickles

These pretty bling by Me and My Big Idea This beautiful stamp by Daisy Bucket

AND MORE TO COME (hopefully!!) This contest will run until the end of the month!

And while we're on the subject of blogs, I have a request to put out there. I was thrilled to discover a lady who runs a blog that highlights scrappy Canadian Blogs called Canadian Blog Carnival. She has posted that she is in need of a bit of a break and is looking for someone to help run the site for a while and I thought I would post it here in case anyone is interested. Please check her out!

SKETCH OF THE WEEK MAY 4-10

Good Monday Morning! I stayed up a tad too late last night playing with Photoshop and working on a sketch. I am loving Photoshop but doing the whole self-taught thing is not helping in the whole getting a good night's sleep thing! I am trying to play with tilting my pictures a bit more so this sketch is based on that. During the crop this weekend, I picked up a beautiful pack of chipboard butterflies by Magenta so I had to put a butterfly in the sketch too! Have yourself a fabulous week!

DID YOU SCRAP?

Happy Belated National Scrapbook Day! Did you scrap? Did you shop? There were sure a lot of events going on around here - we are lucky to have 4 scrap stores in the city and 2 just outside of the city and there were crops galore. I signed up to go to one (that was on Friday evening and all day Saturday) all by myself for the very first time ever and had a great time. I got much more accomplished than I normally do but I think it is because I didn't know anyone. The gals put on a great crop and it was nice to have some "me" time! I will share 4 of the 6 layouts that I got done but need to hang onto the other two as they are part of ongoing challenges/reveals going on over at the forums. Would love to see everyone else's goods!

Pretty - Lillian by Crate Paper and the new canvas line from Prima. There are holes around the circle that I wanted to stitch with brown thread but only had embroidery floss on me. I tried it but it was too thick...I had left my vehicle at home as I could walk to the crop so I head over to the mens' store that was nearby and tried to buy some thread from them but they just didn't want to share! I haven't decided yet if I will add it or not...what do you think?

Summer Lovin' - Lime Rickey by Basic Grey and Tim Holtz


What Curls ? - some old paper that went well...lol. Tim Holtz grungeboard hearts, wings and Crackle Paint.Get Your Shirt Off - the only patterned paper I bought the whole weekend!! I have no idea who made it but it went well!