Sketchabilities #118 - Epic Photo Fail

Happy Monday!  Well, it's happy for me because I'm on vacation and getting lots of R&R!  To make the day even better, it's time for another fabulous sketch from Sketchabilities!

Here is my layout.  I seriously had way too much putting this layout together.  I think I pretty much giggled the whole time thinking about the circumstances of this photo of me and my silly friends trying to take a group photo with the camera on auto-timer.

And here is the awesome sketch.

CLICK HERE to see the rest of this fabulous reveal.

Here are some close-ups.  I dug deep into this month's Citrus Twist Kit for this one - almost everything on this layout comes from that kit.  CLICK HERE to check out June's awesome CT kit!  

Of course, like most of the Sketchabilities sketches, this one made me think of mixed media, so I layered up lots of texture on this page.  For the  background, I started with paper from the Studio Calico South Market collection (the paper is called green acres), then I laid down some gesso and went over that with a Tim Holtz mask misted with Heidi Swapp Color Shine mist in navy.  Then I layered the same mask with white ink over that.  THEN I grabbed another mask (it's actually a cardboard mask meant for home improvement projects but whatevs-I love it- and applied that with modeling paste.  I also added some splats of Tim Holtz distress stain in Crushed Olive.

Of course, for my title I fell back on my trusty canvas Thickers, and mixed them with American Craft Thickers that came in my CTK kit.

I cut these library cards from Crate Paper Open Road paper called Drive-In, and then stenciled over top of them with a Heidi Swapp mini stencil.  I used the floral pattern on the flip side of the paper as a layer behind the photo.

I still chuckle over my repeated use of the doilies I once despised, but man they do come in handy!  The stamp is a Citrus Twist Kits original.

For the bottom corner, I repeated the background work that I did under the photo and added a frame from a Basic Gray ephemera pack from the Capture line.  And then I added another Citrus Twist Kits original stamp for the camera, which I fussy cut and layered over the frame.

And there you have it, folks!  You have 2 weeks to play along and link up your creation to share with us over at Sketchabilities.  Hope to see you in the gallery!  

xoxo,

Shawna

CSI #129 - You Shine...

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope this post finds you well and, for my US girls, looking forward to a little R&R on the upcoming 4th of July holiday!  I have a really fun week planned and am looking forward to lots of quality time and sunshine!

Here is my take on CSI's reveal for this week.  I loved the colors and had fun trying out an laser cut overlay on this one.  I bought it though...still no Silhouette.  I'm gonna have to crack and buy one some day very soon!  Here's my layout:

 And here is the beautiful case file.  CLICK HERE to see what the rest of the design team came up with and to play along.

 And some of the deets:  I misted the overlay with Heidi Swapp Color Shine mist in Mustard and Velvet Black.  The chipboard is a lovely branch-like circle from Creative Embellishments.  You have to stop by and check out their amazing selection of quality chipboard!  I am using it more and more.  CLICK HERE to visit the Creative Embellishments store.  For this layout, I covered the chipboard with dark gray Faber Castell gelatos, and then embossed some spots with white.

Lots of Heidi Swapp stickers and ephemera, including this cute heart, and the title work.  The "joy" button is an adorable Heidi Grace epoxy sticker.  I love how it looks doodled.

More Heidi Swapp, and some cheap dollar bin Recollections/Michael's blooms.  And some fun green thread and wire to tie in the green in the case file palette.

And here is my journaling - a 6 word memoir.

Enjoy the weekend friends!


xoxo,

Shawna

Exciting News and a Layout to Share!

I've been itching to share some awesome news with you all, and today I finally can...I am now an official design team member for Life. Paper. Scrapbook!!!

For anyone not familiar with LPS, it is a fantastic challenge site that offers both a sketch and a mood board challenge each month.  LPS also puts out an amazing digital scrapbooking magazine, in which I have been published in the past.  CLICK HERE to see the rest of the design team reveal and get ready to check out the July sketch challenge coming up very soon!

I also wanted to share this "just for fun" layout I did capturing one of my favorite recent photos of the Little Lady.  The way the sun backlit her pretty little face was just totally ethereal, and that's what I was going for with this soft layout.  I didn't do a ton of work on it - just some gold and blush mist behind the layers, a hand painted title that I fussy cut, and then some delicate pink feathers to soften the page.  I hope you enjoy!

Now.  Off to my scrap table...I have a lot of creating to do! :-D

xoxo,

Shawna

BFFs 4ever...

Hello hello!  I have a layout to share that was made for CSI's latest case file, Case #128.  This one had a whole lotta purple which always gives me hives, but I tackled it as best as I could.  lol  I was psyched to find this photo of the Little Lady and her BFF because it literally had all of the colors in the case file worked in already.

Here's the case file.  CLICK HERE to see the rest of the awesome work from the other designers.

Some closeups.  I really love these fabric Thickers.  I use them all.the.time!  This time, I covered them in some powder blue chalky ink.  Underneath the center of the layout, I used mists and masks and some Tim Holtz distress paints to make the splats.  Then I added a layer of random stamps and a bunch of light blue thread.

I used some Liquid Pearls here and there, and some modeling paste to do some directional triangles.  The "tree" triangle that I used for journaling, as well as the leaf I used for the title, were fussy cut from DCWV Green Stack - it's a summer woodsy/campy line and has been coming quite handy this season!  I added the Prima pussy willow embellie (part of it - I cut it down) as a finishing touch over the photo.

How cute is this Basic Grey "Hey Girl" flair button?

Side view of the dimension :)

And that's all she wrote!  You have until June 29th to link up and share your layout with us over at CSI.  Enjoy your Sunday everyone!

xoxo,

Shawna

TMN Chairs Kit

Happy Tuesday!  I'm back today sharing another layout created with the Chairs color kit from The Memory Nest.  The flip side of the papers are softer, and in contrast to the 2 page carnival layout I did earlier this month, here is a softer page of the Little Lady when she was just a itty bitty.  This is my last layout as a design team member for The Memory Nest and I want to give a shout out to Leslie for giving me the opportunity...was a wonderful team to work for!

Here's the kit.

A little mist on the background, with stenciled modeling paste hearts, and some hole punched hearts as well.

This flower came from my stash - it was on a clothespin, which I removed.  Another Michael's bargain buy. :)

And a closeup of our pretty Little Lady, just because she's so cute.

Here's a photo of my prior layout using this kit.  Super versatile papers!

Stop by the store by CLICKING HERE and take advantage of 10% off, plus discounted shipping using the codes below.

xoxo,

Shawna

Sketchabilities #117 - Cousins

Happy Sunday!  And Happy Father's Day!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and spent the day today honoring the dads, grandpas, step-dads, and significant male figures in their lives.  We had a wonderful day - started out with a pancake breakfast with my hubby and dad, then caught a How to Train Your Dragon 2 matinee (awesome, awesome movie, by the way), then played at the park and ended with a BBQ at home.  Here's a photo of the most awesome dad I know with his Little Lady. :)

Man I love our little family. <3

Now, on to the latest sketch over at Sketchabilities!  This is a gorgeous sketch and I loved working with it. Really enjoying scrapping summer memories as they happen!  Here is the sketch and my take on it.  CLICK HERE to see the full reveal.

Love this shot of our Little Lady with her baby cousin.  She is so looking forward to teaching the baby so many things as she grows.  Here are some close ups.

Hope you are inspired and that I will be seeing your work in the gallery in the coming weeks!  Remember, you have until June 28th to link up!

xoxo,

Shawna

Fair Fish

I see a lot of clean and simple layouts in my future...summer has just begun and already it has been filled with stories waiting to be told in layouts for the Little Lady to read when she is older-this style leaves the most room for me to tell the story.  It's funny because I love and try so many different styles in my layouts but ultimately it's these really simple and organized pages that my eye seems to be most drawn to.  This week's sketch (from Em Stafrace of Page Drafts) with CSI's latest case file worked wonderfully for this layout and seemed to fit this story perfectly!

Here's the sketch and the case file.  CLICK HERE to see the rest of the design team's work.

I love these Thickers...I have used them on quite a few layouts - they are fun as is or you can color them with markers or gelatois.  Such fun block lettering!

I think I have had these fish stamps for literally 9 years...not even sure I've ever used them before today!  No idea who made them...they're that old.  Lol  The tickets are fussy cut from the Studio Calico Lemon Lush paper line.

Part 1 of the story ;-)

And the conclusion. ;-)

Thanks for stopping by...your visits mean a lot!

xoxo,

Shawna

CSI #126 - Megawatt Smile

Happy Sunday.  Hope everyone had a great weekend!  We had a busy one again...once summer arrives there's hardly a day that we aren't on the go.  Lots of fun though! :)

Today I'm sharing my layout for CSI's latest case file.  You can CLICK HERE to see what the rest of the design team came up with.

I had originally planned to scrap a color photo of the centerpieces from Ireland's birthday party last year, but when I put the black and white up against these colors I had to do a switcheroo...I love the contrast!

Here is the case file:

For my evidence I chose chevrons, polka dots, scallops and textured (watercolor) paper.  I didn't have a bunch of journaling because the photo was a last minute switch, but seeing that big toothy grin definitely makes me cheerful and is definitely cause for celebration daily, so I chose those 2 inspiration words and created corner sentiment on the layout.

Here are some closeups:

These white canvas American Craft Thickers have been my go to on so many layouts. They are so versatile and the font seems to go with almost anything.  I covered these ones in orange and yellow gelatos, then outlined them with a black ballpoint pen.

Some of my corner journaling.

A closeup of that infectious grin.  And the layers that I put behind it.  It's a bit hard to read in the photo, but I used a Citrus Twist Kit stamp that says "you fill my heart."  The flair button is Basic Grey Hey Girl.

I used gelatos and a watercolor brush to do the base layer of the background, then went over that with a sunburst stencil and some modeling paste.

Thanks for stopping by!!  See  you soon. :)

xoxo,

Shawna