CSI #133 - Gone Cray Cray!

CSI's case file is coming out a day early this week and I'm excited to share this funny layout highlighting the craziness of my friends.  We have "moms' night in" get togethers every now and then, and they're always guaranteed to be filled with belly laughs, bloopers and general craziness.  Oh, and wine.  Lots of wine. So here we are in all of our glory, trying to use a self-timer on the camera to get a group photo of us.  We are so mature, aren't we?  Hehe.

And here is the lovely case file I worked with.  I love these colors together - not only on paper, but in fabrics and clothing and furniture, etc.  Pink and orange is such a great combination!  CLICK HERE to see the rest of the design team inspiration.

 For my evidence, I have a layer of stamped polka dots under there (I know, hard to tell because the whole background has gone cray cray lol), paint and a flair pin.

I started out with black cardstock, and layered a large piece of patterned paper over it, secured with two teal colored brads.  The patterned paper was brushed with diluted gesso, with the center covered with white acrylic paint.  Layered over that is orange and pink gelatos, stamped black polka dots, and then a modeling paste chevron mask, outlined with pen.   I used some black Indian ink add some drops of black here and there.

Once the background layers were dry, I ripped some strips of hot pink washi tape and layered them over the background.  Then I grabbed a bunch of scrap paper in hot pink and various shades of gray and layered those, mixing in some more washi tape in black and white.  Once that was all in place, I wadded up a bunch of string and threw that under there as well.

Some Heidi Swapp vellum was added, as well as a couple of wooden stars and a wooden word bubble.  The title letters are American Craft Thickers.  I love these because they have a great doodled look, and can be used as is, or colored to match your palette.

Finally, I framed in the layout with a couple of paper straws left over from the Little Lady's 4th birthday party.  Glad I had kept a few of these around!

I used the inspiration word "simple" for my journaling, because I liked that this layout was anything  but.  There is never a dull moment with these girls, and our "simple" little evenings in always get crazy and are guaranteed to be a blast.  I woke up the morning after this night with a sore face from laughing so hard...love these girls!

I hope the wheels are spinning and you are thinking about what you can do with this awesome case file...let's see your creations in the gallery this week!  Have a great day!



xoxo,

Shawna

2 layouts...1 sketch

Hard to believe my second term with Sketchabilities is coming to an end.  What a wonderful experience it has been!  I have been endlessly inspired by the Sketchabilities sketches I have been given to work with, and they have challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and dive into many different styles of paper crafting. 

These are my last layouts as a Sketchabilities design team member and I hope they highlight just how much you can do with these awesome sketches.  CLICK HERE to see the rest of the design team's creations and come play along with us.

 The first layout I am showing is actually the second one that I did for this sketch, but I prefer it, so I am sharing it first.  Man, I am telling you this kid's smile could melt the coldest hearts on the planet.  She truly exudes such incredible joy that when you see her, you can't help but smile too.  Right?  Tell me you're not grinning... :-D

I started out with heavy weight mixed media paper and then layered on a Tim Holtz mask with Tattered Angels mist in Clambake.  Then I used a small plate to draw a circle with brown watercolor paint, letting the water pool a bit, then tipping it to the side so that the colors would drip to the left.Once dry, I added another Tim Holtz mask of paint spatters/coffee stains using Heidi Swapp mist in Blush, and some more of the same mask with Tim Holtz distress paint in Weathered Wood.  Then I repeated the addition of a little water pooling and dripped the colors to the left. 

I love the soft colors of the feathers, which were a great clearance find at JoAnn Fabrics a few months back.  I found a great bag full of assorted feathers for about $1.50.  The title is Heidi Swapp.

These triangles were made using a cheap cardboard stencil I found at Michael's that is actually meant for other home projects, but I love it and somehow it is holding up, despite being paper and being repeatedly covered in modeling paste.  These triangles were made by mixing a bit of the Tim Holtz distress paint in Weathered Wood with glass bead gel medium.  I love the glass bead gel because not only does it give some texture, it has a little bit of sparkle to it.  To compliment the colors and the glass bead gel, I added some literal glass beads scattered around the page.

I added some of the Tattered Angels mist to raw chipboard circles from Creative Embellishments and layered them on either side of the photo, then lined the right side circle with some great little word stickers from Studio Calico.

So now I'm going to do a 180 and share the layout I first did for this sketch.  I wanted to end my term with Sketchabilities with a vibrant mixed media layout, and I thought this photo taken of the sunset would be a great opportunity to use lots of dramatic color.  Somehow, the layout ended up looking a bit "dark" vs. serene.  My mom said it kind of looks like dead trees and the cover of a spooky Stephen King novel or something.  Looking at it impartially, I would have to agree.  LOL  But oh what fun it was to get messy with all those colors!

I started with black cardstock, with some swipes of gesso over it where I was going to put my colors.  Then I pulled out my gelatos in shades of yellow, orange, red, pink and purple and just started layering and blending them with a watercolor brush.  Once dry, I simulated the trees with black watercolor using a fan brush.  In hindsight, I think I probably could have included a few more branches. ;-)  The house is a little vellum embellie from Studio Calico.

Another Creative Embellishments chipboard piece was used here.  I absolutely love this circle chippie and bought 2 of them. CLICK HERE to check out all of the other gorgeous chipboard and product Creative Embellishments carries. I painted this one with black watercolor, then painted the circles white with some acrylic, decorating them with some gold Thickers punctuation periods, gold liquid pearls, and some various gold enamel dots I had in my stash.  The key is another bargain find from Michaels.  No idea of the brand but it came from the dollar bin.

Here's another angle that that shows the Maggie Holmes for Crate paper gold vellum photo film reel behind the photo.

So there you have it.  My last hurrah with Sketchabilities.  I hope you have found some inspiration here and will come play along with this latest sketch!  Have a great day!

xoxo,

Shawna

#132 - The Woods

I'm a bit late getting this blog post up due to a crazy week last week, rounded out with a crazy weekend.  The Little Lady had her birthday party Saturday and prepping, attending, and recovering pretty much sucked every bit of energy I had.  Was an amazing party though and I can't wait to share the photos on future layouts!

Anywhoooo...here's my take on the latest reveal over at CSI.  I had such fun putting this together and was super stoked to be able to incorporate so many photos, using tiny wooden frames that I had previously never found a use for. CLICK HERE to see what the rest of the design team came up with for this case file.  Some awesome inspiration this week!

And here's the case file.

I worked in a good amount of the evidence for this case, incorporating trees, leaves and branches (within the photos), string, labels, pouring something (paint used to color the white frames), and a little bird next to the Little Lady's foot.
For my testimony, I chose to handwrite some of my journaling up the side of the string to the left, and to scatter the rest, below each of the photos.  The cool part of the journaling below the photos is that it describes when and where we saw the various creatures, all which were spotted at the Woods where my daughter attends nature camp.  We often go on the weekends to hike and catch salamanders and crayfish, and you never know what you're going to see, which is nice because it's impossible to ever get bored of the woods!

Here are a couple of different views of the page.

So there you have it.  I loved this case file and hope that you will too.  Remember, you have until Sunday, August 3rd, to get your layout in.  Hope to see you in the gallery!


xoxo,

Shawna

You are My Home

My very first mood board challenge over at Life.Paper.Scrapbook!  CLICK HERE to see the entire reveal.  This is an awesome board and you can take whatever inspiration from it that you want to create your layout.  We also have a great sponsor for this challenge...Scrappy Canary (formerly Polly Scrap! Kits)!  Scrappy Canary is Australia's premier crafting kit club, offering monthly Scrapbook, Pocket Life and Embellishment kits. Their kits offer a handpicked selection of the latest papers, embellishments and exclusive items all coordinated and shipped direct to your door. In addition to kits, their store also stocks other coordinating embellishments for those who love extra goodies to play with. CLICK HERE to check them out! 

And here is the mood board that inspired it.  I loved the colors, and I loved the "Home" elements.  I put a little twist on it and instead of scrapping my actual physical home, I scrapped my metaphoric home...my fabulous hubby and daughter.

 I started with a watercolor background colors in a softer tone of the ones in the mood board. Looking around our house and considering what makes our home a "home," I found myself drawn to the huge photo wall we have in our living room.  The photos of my family are definitely a part of what makes our house a home.  That is how the doodled picture frame idea came to be.  I've seen some doodled frame on pinterest and loved the idea, but they never seemed to fit with what I was working on.  This time they did! Woot woot! :)

Lots of vellum ephemera on this layout, and I added some pen doodles to alot of that as well so it would contrast against the soft watercolor.  There's Maggie Holmes for Crate Paper, Basic Gray, and Heidi Swapp all mixed in there.

I also cut a couple of squares of vellum and made little pockets to fill the side frames, stuffed with sequins and hole-punched hearts in various sizes.  I need a sewing machine in a bad way...I would have loved to stitch the pockets but didn't want to go through the agony of handstitching so I just hot glued them.

Come be inspired by this month's mood board and take advantage of the chance to win an awesome prize from this month's sponsor! 

xoxo,

Shawna

#131 Happy Camper

Hello there!  Today I am sharing my layout for CSI's latest case file, Case File #131.  We have an awesome sketch from Em Stafrace of PageDrafts too!  CLICK HERE for all the details and to see the rest of the design team's inspiration.

Here is my layout featuring my little camper.

And here is the awesome case file and sketch:

For my evidence, I used the following:  wet medium (seafoam Heidi Swapp color shine spray), woodgrain (a Mod Podge stencil with modeling paste, covered with Tattered Angel mist), and the wooden "Explore" arrow, string (on the banner), and animal accents (the little snail at the bottom).

Then for my evidence, I used the "outdoor" inspiration word, which was perfect for the photos because the Little Lady is going to summer nature camp at a local nature preserve.  She is most comfortable and at home when she's out exploring, so it has really been the absolute best summer camp experience for her!

So there you have it.  I hope you will come play along with us at CSI.  Have a great day!

xoxo,

Shawna

Sketchabilities #119 - The Bridge

I'm hitting these vacation photos hard and loving how well they're working with the July challenges!  The latest sketch at Sketchabilities is no exception.  We've got a fabulous sketch for you with an awesome sponsor for both challenges this month - Flying Unicorn!   CLICK HERE to check out their amazing kits, one of a kind paper crafting embellishments, and more. 

Here is my layout and the sketch.  Apologies for the uneven edges here - the watercolor warped the paper a bit and made it impossible to get a good square shot.  C'est la vie.  CLICK HERE to see the rest of the design team's amazing reveal.

And some close-ups.  I started out with a watercolor like background made from 4 shades of blue gelato.  I used a piece of scrap mixed media paper to mix my watercolors before brushing them on, so then I stamped this fun anchor onto the scrap paper I had used to mix my colors, and fussy cut it out.

Lots of layers here - mostly papers from Basic Grey's Capture line, although the red and white chipboard is a frame from Recollections that I cut up and used pieces of.

I pulled in some Creative Embellishment chipboard circles, but left them unaltered because I thought the natural colors complimented the color scheme of the layout.  More layers and a Basic Grey chipboard frame as well.  The little nautical string of circles is Studio Calico - Boardwalk line maybe?  It is leftover from a summer 2013 Citrus Twist Kit.

Loving these kraft colored Thickers from my June Citrus Twist Kit.

Another bit of vellum ephemera from Studio Calico, secured with a straight pin.  The "Next Adventure" chipboard sticker is Heidi Swapp.  My journaling, that talks about the bridge to Cape Cod, our favorite summer vacation spot.

I hope you are inspired to play along with us at Sketchabilities.  Remember, you have 2 weeks to link up your creation.  Happy scrapping!

xoxo,

Shawna

Challenge YOUrself #8 - a color challenge!

I'm back to share my layout for July's color challenge over at Challenge YOUrself!  It's a gorgeous hazy summer color scheme that can be used so many different ways!  I was inspired by the colors and the circles to create this watercolor layout.

Here's the color challenge!

My title was handwritten on white cardstock with Liquid Pearls and then cut and adhered.  Picture Perfect is from a Basic Grey ephemera pack, and the buttons are Heidi Swapp. I love how they sparkle!

I gave the photo an ombre tint treatment to match the color scheme and added in some fun Maggie Holmes ephemera circles here and there.

Another closeup of the circles. I started with a base of watercolor circles, and outlined some with black watercolor, and a few others with a black pen to pop them out a bit.  Added some velum circles to play off the hazy effect of the color palette.

And that's all she wrote!  Remember, you have all month to get your layout linked up over at Challenge YOUrself.  Hope you can play along!

xoxo,

Shawna

LPS July Sketch Challenge is Live!

Hi there!  Back from vacation and back to work today.  That part is not so fun, but it's also time for my first layout reveal as a new design team member over at Life.Paper.Scrapbook!  CLICK HERE to see the rest of the awesome reveal.

The July sketch was the perfect chance for me to start scrapping our vacation photos and I couldn't wait to dig in.

And here's the sketch:

I started out with a watercolor background with some neutrals for the "sandy" area, and a mixture of blues double as sky and water.  Then I added some modeling paste for a wave/cloud effect and added some Tim Holtz stamped birds.  I also went over the sandy area with some Tattered Angels mist to give it a little sandy sparkle.

When I was working on the gala signs for the Little Lady's school fundraiser, I came across this awesome package of moss at Michael's.  Even though it is actually just moss and dried mushroom type stuff, I think it feels beachy and I grabbed it hoping to use it for just this purpose some day.  I attached it all to the sand with a glue gun...and may have burned my fingerprint off in the process. ;-)

I love this Citrus Twist Kits stamp to the left of my journaling.  So true...and so far this summer is shaping up to have LOTS of stories!

Closeup of my photo arrangement.  At first, it may seem like this layout is nothing like the sketch, but the photo placement, the journaling and title placement are right where they should be in the sketch.  I just went a little crazy with the moss which makes the sketch a bit tricky to see.  Hehe.

Aaaaand the canvas thickers show up again!  Shocking, right?

So there you have it!  You have until July 28th to link up your take on the sketch.  See you in the gallery!

PS.  Come back and visit me this evening...I'll have another post revealing the July color sketch over at Challenge YOUrself.  If you can't wait to see what this month's challenge entails, CLICK HERE now to check it out!  Have a great day!!

xoxo,

Shawna