Wanna see my serious face??

Happy Monday everyone!  Had a fabulous, productive, and sunshiny weekend and although I hate that it had to end, I am thankful the rain held off until today, since I am stuck in my office all day anyway. 

CSI put out their latest case file, Case File No. 69, this past Friday and I had a chance to dig into it a little bit over the weekend, finishing it up this morning.  I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to scrap these pictures of my Mini's flair for the dramatic…and this seemed like the perfect scene to do that with.  There's still a full week to play along, so come over and join us!  Here is the scene:

And here is my interpretation of the file. 

Lots of doodles on this one!  The numbers on the photos are rub-ons, and I cut a strip of lasercut paper to use as a border under the photo.  FINALLY used up the small beach-themed K&Co. frames that had been sitting in my stash for several years, and brought in the good old Dynamo labeler for some of the title work and the pie graph.

For the pie chart, I started with white cardstock and drew a graph on it.  Then I cut out the individual pieces of pie and inked them with the colors in the scheme.  The red and the tan are Colorbox, the light blue is a Colorbox chalk ink, and the navy is Tim Holtz denim distress ink. I wanted the chart to look like a game spinner, so I added some Basic Grey rub-ons in the center, added a small brad, and an arrow from Heidi Swapp.  Threw in some doodles and a leftover word bubble from my March Citrus Twist kit and voila.  Spinner complete.  

 Hope everyone has a fabulous week!  

Off with her head! (The one that started it all...)

Was just taking a walk down scrapbook.com memory lane and came across this early layout I created for a challenge back in 2008.  The challenge was to create a layout without using embellishments.  Just pen, paper, and photos.  So I dove head first (haha) into free-writing because I knew I had to fill a whole lotta space with words, rather than decoration and embellishments.  Still one of my faves and, I think, a true testament to the importance of journaling on a layout.  I can look back and, quite literally, see exactly what I was thinking at that time in my life.  Journal on your layouts, peeps.  All those memories you think you will never forget fade, will...unless you get them down on paper.  Happy Sunday and thanks for stopping by!

Sanna Lippert video tutorial - Resist Technique Tags

I just recently happened upon the Scrapfriends blog and holy moly the first post I read through was this (today lol)...perfect timing because I have a half finished layout with blank white tags that were just waiting for something like this.  On a mission this evening.  Chardonnay, ink, masks and embossing powder.  Hot, right?  Hehehe!  Check out this video of Sanna's start-to-finish (super amazing) layout using this technique.  And check back tomorrow for my first go at incorporating this technique.  Happy Friday everyone!

Super Cape!

My daughter is lucky to be loved by everyone who meets her.  For no reason at all, one of my co-workers decided to knit her this gorgeous periwinkle blue cape.  I wasn't sure if my little monkey would wear it, but she rocked it with pride...after I told her that it was a super hero cape!  

This page was the perfect opportunity to dive into my April Citrus Twist kit.  This is the second layout I have used the instagram overlays from the kit on and I am absolutely in love with them.  They add such a cute modern touch to pages.  And lately my Little Yellow Bicycle embellies have been getting a lot of use too...I love the natural wood and canvas elements!  Here's a few close-ups of the details.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Wednesday everyone!

Patience is a Virtue

I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to scrap this photo and CSI Case File No. 68 was the perfect opportunity!  If you haven't played along with any of the CSI challenges, definitely stop by.  They are fabulous!

For my title, I took some neutral colored spongy Thickers and inked them, using black to make the key word stand out.

Then I fussy cut some butterflies from cardstock, folded them in the middle, and adhered them with some 3-D zots.

 Added some rub-ons to frame the photo and used an awesome Instagram photo overlay that came in this month's Citrus Twist kit.  I also incorporated some embellies from the kit.  This month's kit is GORGEOUS. I will be using it frequently in coming layouts!

Happy Monday, everyone and thanks for stopping by!

AAG Mini-Challenge - Sketch!

I recently had the pleasure of being selected for the Design Team for a fabulous new challenge blog, About A Girl, dedicated to all the ladies in our lives - daughters, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, etc.  It's a great place to stop in for inspiration and to play along with the challenges and get those girl photos scrapped!    This week we are bringing you a mini-challenge, to hold you over until the big reveal of the first challenge on May 1st!  Here is the sketch:

And here is my interpretation of it.  I played around with molding paste, gesso, corrugated cardboard and newspaper.  Stop by the blog, check out what the other talented DT members did with the sketch, and show us your take on it!  Be sure to link back to your layout to be considered for a great little prize!

gesso diluted a bit to be more transparent - painted it over the newspaper.

sanded down the gesso once dried to give it a distressed look

I will use anything and everything on a layout - I used the box my Citrus Twist to make a fun little banner .  After I cut the triangles, I strung some floss through the triangles to connect them all.

I layered some goodies to create a cluster in the upper corner.

Added some teal acrylic paint to molding paste to make a textured background behind the photos.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Sunday!

What a day!

Revamped the blog a bit, got picked for a design team, and set up a Facebook page to compliment the blog! Excited because I think that linking the blog and the Facebook page will make it easier for everyone to share layouts, ideas and suggestions on building this blog into an awesome resource! Happy scrapping!

The Skull...

One of my favorite things to document is conversations with my daughter.  It never ceases to amaze me how her little brain processes things and makes sense of her surroundings.  When we stumbled across an animal skull during a recent walk, it opened up a whirlwind of questions, theories and ultimately, a conclusion of how it died.  This was a super fun layout to put together (this was made for CSI Case File #67) and I had some laughs reviewing the video I took of that day and reliving the conversation this creepy little skull sparked.

Happy Thursday!

I cut the jaw portion of the skull and popped it out by putting some 3-D zots underneath to add dimension.   Some scrap fibers were put behind the photo to give the illusion of the skull sitting in the grassy field.

Handwritten journaling strips were included to bring the whole layout together...tedious and time consuming but well worth the effort!

Target dollar bin arrow paperclip added to draw attention to the photo and encourage the reader's eye to read the journaling in the direction intended; a mask and paint added to background to simulate dirt.

Let's Talk Photo Printers...

I'm in the market for a wireless that can handle high volume photo printing. My HP bit the dust. Not gonna lie...I didn't mourn long (and I may have done a happy dance) because I was never in love with it anyway. What do you have and what do you love and hate about it?

Wake up and Live.

After the horrifying events that transpired yesterday, for me, this sentiment feels more important than ever.  Prayers for Boston.

Photo Hoarder

I take a lot of pictures.  A LOT of pictures.  And while I have read that every so often you should go through your digital files, clean out the less important photos, and free up some hard drive space, I can't bring myself to do it.   Hello, I'm Shawna.  And I'm a photo hoarder.

(Hi, Shawna.)

Yes, it may look to the untrained eye like I have 10 (okay 20) copies of the same pictures but I swear...there are subtle differences in each.  And I can see them.  So yeah.  I can't click delete.  Anyone else have this issue??

Compounding my hoarding issue is the fact that I am pretty much a one-photo per layout scrapbooker.  I'm really, really trying to get more photos into a layout but I swear when I see a multi-photo sketch I get hives.  But I'm trying.  After a good dose of benadryl to get the hives under control, I tackled this one and managed to squeeze four photos into one 12x12 layout.  And...

I like it!

By the way I headed straight to the store and picked up a new pen after this...lovely thing to run out of ink mid-layout.  Ugh.

Thanks for looking!

Loved and Missed

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  I started back to work after a week long spring break and man is it tough to get back into the swing of things!  I spent much of this past weekend trying to come up with a layout for this week's CSI case file  but ultimately I threw away each attempt.  Something didn't sit right and I could not make any of my ideas work.

This case file was by far the HARDEST challenge I've been given yet by the CSI team.  It is National Humor month so the theme and embellishments were meant to conjure up a humorous page about something...likely the funny things our pets do, etc.  And believe me, with a 6 year old lab, I know funny!  However the color scheme didn't feel funny to me...it felt dramatic and I had a hard time building a funny layout around it.  Ultimately, I decided to scrap the one thing I have avoided scrapping for 4 years...the loss of a pet.  Because I had so much to say, the journaling is contained on the back of the layout, rather than the front.  Here's the layout.  I used gesso to build a textured white background and used a vintage clock mask to let a bit of color come through.  Then I used a template mask to add some script to the background, a dishcloth and another mask to add some shading and pattern, and a bit of acrylic paint here and there.  But for the most part I kept it simple, so the focus would stay on my much missed furry friend because she is really all this layout is about.

The Great Hair Band Comeback!

Had so much fun with this layout.  A few years back I had picked up a paper pack from We R Memory Keepers called Teen Angst for a commissioned scrapbook I was putting together for a teen's graduation album.  Most of the paper pack and die cuts have sat, unused for several years now...but like fashion from the 80's....they have made a comeback!  I was putting together a layout for another CSI challenge (that CSI founder Debbi was hosting for the ladies over at Soul Scrappers) and the die cuts from the Teen Angst packet were just too perfect for this photo.  Rock and roll is here to stay, dudes.

Family

Let me start by saying I cannot believe tomorrow is Friday.  I have been on "vacation" this week enjoying my daughter who is on spring break from school.  It has absolutely flown by and I can't believe that it's almost over.  I'm going to miss having all of this time to hang with the kiddo and immerse myself in scrapbooking fun.

One of my favorite things to scrap is my family.  Candid shots are my fave.  When I came across Ashley Horton's layout "Life," I knew I had found the perfect design to showcase this snapshot. The half circle paper scraps, the bold title, and the arrows were right up my alley. I do not often borrow from other designs, beyond the occasional sketch, but Ashley's work was so spot on for what I had in mind for this picture, I knew this would be the exception. While this layout doesn't do the original justice, I love it just the same. I took some elements from her page and changed them a bit, working with Heidi Swapp chipboard, some stitching, some Little Yellow Bicycle embellies, and some Oh Snap Project Life papers. The result feels perfect to me.
Here is the finished product, and below are some close-ups of the details I put into the page.

I penciled the sketch of an arrow then filled it in with black embroidery floss.  Love the way it looks with the chipboard hearts in the middle.  Below it is a stamped heart arrow, which I went over with a black marker to deepen the shade.

More stitching below the photo with two strips of paper, cut at the ends to resemble ribbons.

A hand-cut, double-layered heart with a Heidi Swapp arrow perfectly covered an "oopsie" in the lower left corner.

I should also mention that I am currently loving using the left-over vellum paper-tear strips as borders...I used them both above and below this photo...in honor of scrap my mama never taught me BUT would be proud of...I try to use every bit of product in my stash.  Because my mama did in fact teach me that there's a place for everything.  In this case, there's even a place for the paper tear strips from a wire ringed vellum paper pad. 

Thanks for looking!