Contributions Galore

I've been having a blast assembling my contributions for November's edition of DieCutCrazy, the digital magazine I design for. I enjoy creating on an everyday basis, and there is something especially exciting about seeing those efforts amongst the talented team of designers who are also featured each month.

Cards, scrap book layouts, and home decorations accented by cleverly used die cuts can all be found in each edition of DieCutCrazy, available through your iPad and iPhone. The price per month is very reasonable, and inspiration comes at no additional cost!

I'll be sharing some of my past articles here on the blog so stop back by soon!

Remembering Those Berry Good Times

It seems like just yesterday we were walking out the front door (sometimes as early as 7:45) in the morning to gather our fresh berries growing around the yard. Huckleberries, Wild Raspberries, Salmonberries, Slough berries, Blueberries,and of course, Blackberries!
We'd bring them inside and enjoy our pickings with yogurt, on our oatmeal, or just straight off the bush if we found an especially delectable selection!
Well those glory days are in the past, but we'll be able to relive the joys of straight-from-the-bush-consumption whenever we see this scrapbook page. And fall is definately here, and brings with it it's own joys; sweaters, the changing colors of the leaves, muddy shoes, and more, guiltless, time inside for scrappin'!
I hope you enjoy taking a quick trip back in time with me to scrap these adorable pictures of Rainier enjoying her freshly picked wild raspberries. This page came together really quickly, I was working off a sketch which featured three circles and ribbons too. I used Bella Blvd stickers and Echo Park papers, and Basic Grey die cuts, cupcake toppers, and paper backgrounds, too. It was such an easy page to create, I'm thinking of teaching a fall version next month up at Michael's. Let me know if you're interested in signing up!

Slidings more fun with Friends

Even though I have tons of both brads and buttons in my stash, I never think to use them because of my astonishing assortment of bling! I was determined to use many often overlooked products on this page, including paperclips, and whimsical animal stickers. Washi-tape, border stickers, and some pen outlining pulled the focus into the pictures of my girls playing with one of my great teacher friends, Miss Evans.
Isn't summer break from school just about the most looked-forward-to event of childhood? I can remember well all the grand road trips across country, visiting relatives and seeing our beautiful nation's landscapes from the van or motorhome window. My folks always stopped at several empty schoolyard playgrounds to let us kids stretch our legs. Now that I'm older, I realize it was probably to ensure a little nap time, too!

Anyway, Miss Evans always makes my girls -and me- feel so special and this day was no different.

She oohed and ahhed over Sunday, filled me in on the  latest school's-out happenings, and then went up and down the slides with Rainier for over an hour at her apartment's playground while I ate lunch. Sadly, we were only able to do this one time this summer. Now she's back to school, and we are scrapping all those gorgeous sunny days!

Creative Catch Up

First I started with my colors, Rainier helped me pick these patterns after watching the latest episode of Glitter Girl's Adventures. I started following her example but somehow my first patterned strip ended up on its side and collected everything on top of itself!

Adding in these Heidi Swapp journaling cards and some banner pieces  and I thought I was done. When I showed my honey the end result he suggested I use different photos, and I love how these three 4x4 shots of the girls riding together in a shopping cart for the first time goes better with the Oh Happy Day title I found in my cut-ups bin.

 Later in the day I decided pie was needed...

And finally these four cards developed from the scraps on my desk. I was playing some serious catch-up with my creativity being at a low after a week of summer fun with my family. My mom came over and helped me Saturday night and most of the day Sunday, though, so of course she needed a card. I saw Jen Gallagher tie a ribbon around her frame, had to try that. I took some process photos of the Home/Comfort card for DieCutCrazy, and then painted one of my last wood veneer pieces from a four pack I bought at Michaels last week by K&Company.. The card with the scalloped banner was from a mini gelato tutorial I posted on Instagram

 

  Whew! I feel on top of my craft space now!

Mixing Patterned Papers

As much as I rely upon and enjoy following sketches, it is more that I use them as a guide to my creative process, rather than a strict, set way of having to make something. Glitter Girl's rescue lesson this week was all about how to mix patterned papers. I love her examples; I always feel I can confidently accomplish what she's challenging the viewer to make and share.

My two year old and I watched last weeks episode while waiting for baby sister to take her nap. As soon as her head hit the crib sheet we ran to the craft room. Using her prompts to select patterns that coordinated was a lot of fun, and got me to use this scalloped edged 12x12." I was also able to use a sheet of snow covered evergreens, which you can almost see on the right hand side. I couldn't really tell there was snow after layering on my photos and mat. There is some yellow with white clouds print from Bella Blvd, and the heart stickers are by Creative Memories.

  My picture orientation and journaling aren't in the same place as Glitter Girl's sample pattern suggests, but you know I had to make it mine ... I was also trying so hard to make it mine that I turned it to Mama Bossy Pants and turned our fun into tears! Oh boy. After a snack and a new resolve to not take over, Rainie and I finished up this page and called up her East Coast grandparents to share.

Tuesdays have become a day of the week we really look forward to because that's when we see all our storytime friends at the Key Center library. Plus, with all the reading we do, its a day I look forward to because it means a new set of children's reading materials. You know how they love  to read the same thing over and over again :-)

Speaking of trying over and over again, check out my next post for my second interpretation of this patterned paper page challenge. 

 

On the Up & Up

Wow, it seems like as soon as I noticed I was using the same pattern over and over again, I stumble across another inspiring design by my favorite artiste, Shimelle!

 

 I remember how much fun Rainie and I had this afternoon last year when we took the car to Les Shwaub (sp?). A task that really doesn't warrent the fondness I now have for these memories!

 I think part of the reason it was well remembered is that these photos are some of the first Instagram shots I took and I was playing with the filters with glee. The smile on her face was still somewhat rare at the time as she was only just beginning to learn "the pose."

This little metal clock finally found a home.


Then I used some FancyPants letter stickers, paper by WeRMemoryKeepers, and Authentique stickers on top of some brown and white grid paper tape.

If it ain't broke...



I love these Shimelle inspired challenges;

 she recently asked her site readers to look for pages to scraplift -from themselves!

In the last couple weeks I had an opportunity to review the last three years or so of scrapbook pages I've created and I noticed that in the last year I must have used this same pattern at least five times subconsciously. Each page is so different, and yet the band of patterned paper with photo seems to be a really effortless design for me. I know that each of these examples were really easy to create, so like they say, if it ain't broke, why fix it!

Even this page (above) that I made during the class I taught last Saturday follows this same idea of a band of information in the top middle of my page. I love the way it turned out,  I'll just have to be sure any future, similarly styled pages don't end up right next to each other :-)

 

Here are some of the similar pages I found in my albums:Easter 2012Easter 2012

 

June 2013 

June 2012
 

January 2013

In the last couple weeks I had an opportunity to review the last three years or so of scrapbook pages I've created and I noticed that in the last year I must have used this same pattern at least five times subconsciously. Each page is so different, and yet the band of patterned paper with photo seems to be a really effortless design for me. I know that each of these examples were really easy to create, so like they say, if it ain't broke, why fix it!

Even this page that I made at the class I taught last Saturday follows this same idea of a band of information in the top middle of my page. I love the way it turned out,  I'll just have to be sure any future, similarly styled pages don't end up right next to each other :-)

July 2013

 

 

Frill Ride

I have this huge assortment of ribbons and other fibers that I'm never using on my layout, so I attempted a fuzzy border on this photo of Rainier rock in out in the living room earlier this year. My dad Ed sent her the horse for Christmas, all the way from his house in New Jersey, so I get a real warm and fuzzy feeling inside when I see her on it!

While we were at the Scrapbook Expo earlier this month I picked up some Studio Calico wood veneer pieces (finally) and so after inking them a bit, I had to add those to my layout, as well as the piece of paper I was testing my new wood parquet stencil on, part of a 12x12" sheet out of the Indie Chic collection, and a bit of the paper tapes we picked up too. All perfectly justifiable purchases since I used them right away :-)

I couldn't come up with a title on my own, so I asked for help from Ray. He suggested, "Thrill Ride." I asked him, did you look at any of the girly stuff on the page?! Ha, ha, I played off his title ~and my observation on his lack of observation~ and came up with "frill ride." I love it!

Rainier really is about the sweetest soul I have ever encountered; these small phrase stickers echo my heart's sentiment perfectly!