My favorite snow star

I'm on a scrappy streak lately!  Loving winter vacation where I can stay in my jammies and just play. :)  This layout is for Scrapfriends' December sketch challenge and I will readily admit, I got a little carried away and this page MIGHT be slightly gaudy LOL...I had this page of woodgrain paper with some modeling paste on it leftover from a page gone bad awhile back and for some reason I didn't throw it away.  Worked out to simulate the snow on this page.  I added some blue gelatos and let them drip to the left, and pulled out the modeling paste again for some little circle dots and to make the snowman.  (These photos were taken of my little one making a snowman earlier this winter.)  I couldn't find a good spot to put my journaling so I will likely add it to the back of the page to tell the story of her silly faces.  You see, Frosty the Snowman came to life when the top hat was put on his head and the first thing he said was "Happy Birthday!"  This is my daughter's replay of that scene, so gaudy or not I love this page. :)

Here's the awesome (and challenging!) sketch from Scrap Friends.

I love your visits and comments so thank you for having a look!  Have a wonderful Sunday!

xoxo,

Shawna

You & Me

Another favorite photo from our Christmas tree hunt scrapped using the Citrus Twist Kits December main kit  (and a little bit from the November kit)...I can't get enough of these gorgeous papers.  At first, I was a little unsure about the mounted deer heads (I'm a lover not a hunter!) but they just work so perfectly with these photos!  I used an older CTK sketch from November of this year to put this one together and stuck mostly to paper and wood embellishments.  I did put a quick spritz of mint green Heidi Swapp mist behind the papers to pull it all together.  I hope everyone is having an awesome and creative Saturday Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo,

Shawna

annual xmas tree hunt :)

This month's Citrus Twist kit has THE best papers.  I couldn't wait to dig into the goodies but with the holidays upon us, today has been the first day I had some time.  So so happy with the goofy vibe of this layout.  Every year we go to cut our Christmas tree, and this year my good friend Heather came along and took some photos for us.  This one catches the essence of our silly family perfectly and I love it so much. :)

On another note, in case you haven't heard, Sketchabilities is having a design team call through January 10th!  CLICK HERE for details on how to apply.  I used sketchabilities sketch #105 as the foundation of this page.  I'm new to the Sketchabilities blog and looking through the sketches, I am very impressed with what I see.  Endless scrappy inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by!  Your visits and feedback are much appreciated!

xoxo,

Shawna

Believe...

Happy Friday!  I hope today finds all of you well, and looking forward to a weekend of peace and relaxation!  I will be finishing up my shopping this weekend and working on some fun gift tags for my Christmas gifts.  Today, though, we have another CSI case file up and ready to solve.  Since Christmas is just days away, it seems appropriate that my page this week highlights the big guy himself, Father Christmas. Here he is, with his fancy cranberry wreath, meeting my daughter a couple of years back. (She is completely awe struck, in case you couldn't tell!)

And here is the case file that I used to create the page.  You can play along with us by CLICKING HERE!

Whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year, I hope it is a fabulous one, filled with love, family, friends, delicious food, and peace and togetherness.  Enjoy, my friends!

xoxo,

Shawna

Beau is on the blog today!

Happy Sunday, friends!  Today I have a layout featuring the Beaubster, getting into the spirit of the holidays with a handmade Native American headband.  He is such a good sport!

Of course this layout comes to you courtesy of CSI's latest case file, and an awesome sketch by Em Stafrace of Page Drafts.

All of the colors are there, and for my evidence I chose gold accents, feathers and doodles.  I chose the Testimony prompt to journal about a holiday and just added a little blurb about how even Beau gets into the Thanksgiving spirit. (he loves him some turkey too, folks!)

This week's colors were a real challenge for me and when I can't find papers in the colors needed, I usually resort to my trustee Faber Castelle gelatos, as I did here.  I also used some more of the feather printables from ScrapFriends and colored them with gelatos.  Here are a couple of close-ups.

I layered two sets of Thickers to make the title and really like the effect that it made with the shadowing.

Thanks for stopping by and having a look!  I hope you will come play along with us this week over at CSI.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo,

Shawna

Challenge YOUrself - Behind the Lens

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, there's a new blog on the block!  It's a fabulous challenge blog that invites you to step out from behind the lens and step in front of the camera!  It's so difficult for many to scrap themselves, but it must be done!

I have the pleasure to be working on the design team for Challenge YOUrself and am here with a reveal of our very first challenge!  It's simple.  Create a layout of yourself - a selfie even - and list 3 random facts about yourself.  Easy peasy.  And good news. You have a MONTH to agonize over which photo to use (hehe) and to create your layout!  Even better news?  The PRIZE!  Not only will the top 3 layouts based on design team votes be featured on the blog for the month, but one lucky participant will be randomly chosen to win a $20 gift certificate from our December sponsor, Paper Issues!  So what are you waiting for?  Turn the lens around on that iphone and get to snappin'! :)

Here is my layout for the challenge.  Cannot wait to see what you all come up with!  

Hello Kitty...

I've been holding on to this photo of a lynx at our local zoo for ages waiting for the right color scheme to scrap it!  Finally, it's here! :)  This week's CSI case file has a drop dead gorgeous winter color scheme and was the perfect opportunity to scrap this magnificent animal and the story behind the photo.  Here is my reveal for CSI case file #101, and details on the case file scene, evidence and testimony prompts.

Here's the amazing case file I had to work with.

All of the colors are there, and for evidence I have ribbon, something shiny, silver accents and circles.  The black framing of the photos and the black ribbon on the top are cut from velvet and photos don't do the softness justice.  For testimony, I journaled about the day I took this photo, which earned honorable mention (3rd place) in our Winter at the Zoo photo contest a few years back.  The journaling is on the white tag behind the photos and reads:

"Sometimes you have to brave the elements to get the perfect shot.  A few years back, I entered the Winter at the Zoo photo contest, and spent a day wandering the zoo in low temps, as the snow fell around me.  I was surprised to find that the animals were all super active and seemed to be loving the zoo…or maybe it was the empty zoo free of most humans that made them so happy.  I was lucky enough to catch this shot of a lynx with a snow covered head, and got an honorable mention for the photo.  What a gorgeous animal…he stood there snow covered and perfectly posed while I photographed him, and then, as if he knew his photo shoot was over, he sauntered away as soon as I put the camera away."

   

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!  xoxo

Shawna

A new Scrap 365-CSI case file is up!

Time to reveal CSI's third special Case File created in collaboration with Scrap365,UK's biggest and best scrapbooking magazine. This special Case File will be open for investigation for the entire month of December. We will have a new Scrap365 Case File every other month, with the publication of a new issue of the magazine.   Here's the case file:

And here's my take on it:

This soft pastel palette was a dream to work with and I am really happy with the way this page turned out.  I loved the combination of the texture paste with the liquid pearls and the enamel dots.  

I hope you will come play along...remember you have the whole month of December to get your entries in, and we will choose 5 favorites to guest design in a coming month.  Good luck!

Holiday Cards

'Tis the season for holiday cards!  I had a blast putting together these simple holiday cards using the Heidi Swapp holiday line of papers and some My Minds Eye embellishments.  Can't wait to share them with friends and family.

On another note, while we are on the subject of the holiday season, the season of giving, please remember the Patterson family in your thoughts and prayers.  If you are able and haven't already, please CLICK HERE and donate to the fund that has been created to help their family through this incredibly difficult time.  There is nothing I wouldn't give right now to be able to send one of these cards to my sweet friend, Meagen.  I miss her very much.

Happy Holidays, friends!

Shawna

Hello Handsome...

Well, if you are one of my American friends, you have hopefully by now recovered from the food coma that is Thanksgiving!  We had a wonderfully filling, quiet day with family where we all reflected on the many blessings we are thankful for.  I hope that each of you, whether you celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday or not, had a fabulous Thursday surrounded by those you love.

CSI has another great case file for you to solve this week, featuring a really unique color scheme that I found perfect for a more masculine page featuring none other than my better half. ;-)

Here is the case file:

And here is my take on it:

The journaling strips are actually straight, but because the strips are adhered to cardboard,
they curved the paper a bit making the strips look crooked. :-/

I started this page by cutting different patterned papers into various sized strips and then inking the edges.  I laid them all over a 12x12 piece of cardboard and adhered them to the page/covered them with Mod Podge.  Then I laid some more paper strips down horizontally, covered parts with Gesso and started layering stamps, fibers and scrap paper.  Really love the way these colors compliment the grainy black and white of the photo!

CLICK HERE to see what the rest of the design team came up with for this challenge, and come and play along with us!

Enjoy the weekend, friends. xoxo

Shawna

Love and Loss

While this blog is primarily for sharing paper crafting inspiration, it is also to highlight and showcase those I love and to preserve my memories of them and with them.  Today I need to share something else, though in essence it is the same.  This past weekend, I lost someone I loved in a tragic accident that left 3 children without a mother.  And left a husband without his wife.  My dear friend, Meagen, passed away on November 24th when the car she was a passenger in was hit by another vehicle.  Meagen and her family were returning from a breakfast out, in celebration of her daughter's second birthday.  Her children, ages 2, 10 and 14, and her husband, were all seriously injured and remain hospitalized.  Meagen was an incredible wife, friend, and mother.  

This is the time of year that we all reflect on who and what we are most thankful for, and one of the things I am most thankful for this year is that I had the opportunity to know such a beautiful soul and to have her in my life.  Meagen will be missed terribly and remembered lovingly.  The fact that life goes on is a brutal reality and in addition to the overwhelming task of recovering physically and mentally from this terrible accident and loss, Meagen's family will also have to deal with the monetary burden of funeral costs, medical bills, and the day-to-day expenses of life.  

On this Thanksgiving-Eve, I am reaching out to ask anyone that is able, to consider making a donation to the fund that has been set up to help Meagen's family cover the monetary costs of this tragedy.  100% of all funds raised go directly to the family.  Please CLICK HERE to donate.  

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post.  Please keep the Patterson family in your prayers and thoughts this holiday season.

xoxo,

Shawna

It's Friday...and you know what that means!

Time for CSI's latest case file reveal!  This was one of my favorite color schemes from the past few weeks and I had a blast putting this layout together.

Here is the case file:

And here is my take on it.

All of the colors are there, though the greens are subtle and used in embellies.  For my evidence I chose butterflies and wood, and for my journaling I used the inspiration word "fly" and included the lyrics from a song by Dave Matthews Band called "You and Me."  For me, it perfectly captures the essence of the crazy ride of life that my husband and I are on together.

My favorite part of this layout is how the gelato drips naturally fell into what, to me, looks like two people, with the taller person's head bent down as if kissing the forehead of the shorter person.  I added a couple of wooden hearts to them to hopefully make them a little easier to "see." And now that I look again, I think it kind of looks like a person being held up like she's crowd surfing in the taller drips.  LOL  I swear, I haven't had a drop of wine as I write this...

The embellishments are a mix of a bunch of stuff I had in my stash - some October Afternoon Travel Girl from a previous month's Citrus Twist Kit, some Maya Road wooden squares from a prior month's Birds of a Feather Kit Co. kit, some Yellow Bicycle canvas butterflies, and some Tim Holtz stamps.  A little bit of this, and a little bit of that! :)

Thanks for stopping by and having a look.  I hope you will come play along and solve this week's case file!

Have a fabulous weekend!