Keep calm, and drink wine.

TGIF!  I really need this 3 day weekend in a bad way.  Been a crazy couple of weeks, and with school starting next week, it's bound to get even crazier.  Pile a nasty cold on top of it all, and I'm a regular hot mess.  Which makes this layout timely. ;-)  Today I'm sharing my take on CSI's latest case file.  CLICK HERE to see the full design team reveal.  Here is my layout and the case:

When I first saw the color scheme, I was a little worried because I had a hard time visualizing all of those colors together.  To make them work, I took a photo that was taken of me during a recent photo shoot and turned it black and white, sprucing it up with a bokah treatment.  Then I took the color scheme and incorporated lots of black to make everything pop a bit.

I didn't have a ton of embellies in the case colors, so I turned to my gelatos and some Tim Holtz distress paint to bring them into the background. I used a Heidi Swapp mini stencil to add some triangles, coloring them in with gelato and then taking a wet paintbrush to distribute the color a bit, then outlined some with a black gel pen.  Then I used the distress paint to make some drips.  I love the way the drips came out - the one that runs the length of the right side reminding me of a twister tornado, which is what this whirlwind that we call life feels like to me some times.

I literally had no papers in the case colors, so I took a sheet of vellum and pulled out the trusty old typewriter to make a mat to put my photo on.  I love the look of the repetitive days of the week back there.

My little phrase stamps from various Citrus Twist Kits always come in handy and I layered a few of them underneath the photo here.

Finally, I added the journaling.  I loved the testimony prompt about journaling about your attitude about something.  I don't know about you, but when things feel really overwhelming and I am in dire need of some relaxation, I love putting my feet up with a glass of wine and just vegging out for awhile.

On that note, there's a couch and a glass of wine calling my name right now.  (Okay I lied...Nyquil will be standing in for wine tonight.  I told you.  I have a cold! LOL)   Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

xoxo,

Shawna

CSI #136 - Books.

Happy Friday!  Ah, I love Fridays.  This was a ridiculously busy and crazy week and I am so happy to have nothing but hanging out on tap for the weekend.  The fair is in town so we might head out to see some animals and ride some rides, but other than that, I'm crossing my fingers for lots of R&R.

Another reason to love Friday?  Another CSI case file ready to be solved!  I cracked this week's case by scrapping one of my favorite solo past times...reading.  I love books and I'll read anything and everything, really. I most frequently read fiction...and National Geographic magazine.  I love me some National Geographic. ;-)

So here's my layout and the case file.  CLICK HERE to see the rest of the design team's reveal.

I found this quote on pinterest and thought it was spot on.  I absolutely love the way it describes books and the way the words are whispered to us right inside our heads.  Carl Sagan nailed it. :)

 

 I'm too tired for details tonight so I'm just doing a drive by share before I settle in for some mindless t.v.  Enjoy the weekend everyone!


xoxo,

Shawna

Grow

Life.Paper.Scrapbook has just released an awesome mood board that is totally  inspiring, with its rich colors and textures.  As soon as I saw the knit blanket in the photo, I thought of this photo of the Little Lady wearing my knit winter hat, and this layout was born. :)

 Here is the yummy mood board.

It was fun layering all of the random embellies in my stash that fit the color scheme.  I didn't really use much of any one paper line, and instead grabbed a little bit of everything and mixed it all together.  I ended up with a color palette that manages to incorporate the majority of the swatches in all three color schemes.  I love how this button came out - it was a light beige opalescent button, and I grabbed some Tim Holtz Distress Stains in Dusty Concord, Spiced Marmelade and Crushed Olive and swirled them around to cover the button.

Felt good to use up some of the huge pile of phrase paper strips that I have overflowing from my paper drawer!

Scrappy Canary is sponsoring this challenge again so come over and link up your take on the mood board!  Have a great week!

xoxo,

Shawna

CSI #135 - Frog Party!

Good morning and happy Saturday!  CSI's latest case file came out yesterday and I'm popping on to share my design team layout for this file.  CLICK HERE to see the rest of the design team's awesome inspiration.

I'm still working through the Little Lady's birthday photos, and I was pleased to be able to incorporate so many photos into one page.  Like I mentioned last week, I'm really loving the look of round photos, so I continued with the round photo trend this week.  Here is my layout.

And here's the case file.  How fun are these colors?!

I used Heidi Swapp color mists to bring in most of the colors in the palette, which gave me a nice base for the photos.  I pulled in a doily, cutting it in half and splitting it on either side of the photo cluster.

To get the darker green in the layout, I took some lime green title letters and went over them with a dark green marker.  These letters are ancient from my stash...from the early 2000s I think!   Like, old enough that I had to secure them with glue because the backs had no stickiness left to them.  This is why I hoard old scrappy supplies...you never know when it's going to come in handy! LOL

All of my embellishments are Heidi Swapp, with the exception of the buttons which came from who knows where.  I have been loving the look of vellum on layouts lately, and there's so many ephemera packs out there to choose from that are chock full of this type of embellie.  A fun little sidenote about the lime green ribbon bow...it's the exact same ribbon that was tied around the Little Lady's ponytail for her party and is featured in the photos, so that was a neat little connection.

I took a single photo and added it to the bottom left to round out the layout.  There she is holding one of her beloved frogs. :)

I included various photos of other party goers enjoying the mud and frog catching, including a couple of great shots featuring a muddy butt and some muddy feet. hehe

I chose the "journal about something that makes you soooo happy" prompt and talked about what a refreshing sight it is to see girls setting aside preconceived notions (from pop culture and society constantly thrown in their face what kinds of things are for "girls" and for "boys"), to get down and dirty at the pond, catching frogs and enjoying nature.  It really bothers me that at the tender age of 5, so many kids already consider these types of things to be "boy stuff"...I can't think of a single past time that can justifiably be reserved for boys only.  If there's one thing I'm teaching my Little Lady, it is that she should do what makes her happy - regardless of what others around her are doing or thinking.  Anywaym, let's face it...mud is fun for everyone! ;-)

Hope to see your creations in the gallery.  Have a great weekend!


xoxo,

Shawna

CSI #134 Explore

Happy Friday!  Time for CSI's weekly case file.  It's the second week of the month (how did that happen so quickly?!) so we have an awesome Em Stafrace sketch for you, as well.  I absolutely loved this case file.  I don't often work with round photos, but I should because without fail I love the outcome every single time.  Here's my layout:

Here's the case:

For my evidence, I chose circles and ribbons.  I worked with the circular photos, obviously, but also incorporated a Creative embellishments circular chipboard, enamel dots, and a couple of white handcut cardstock circles layered behind that.

I chose to journal about something outside, and used a Heidi Swapp travel sticker for my title.  I love the Cosmo Cricket phrase stickers, too, and used a couple of those to play up the outdoor theme.

Added some cream colored jute to accent the main photo.

A bit of Basic Grey with the "awesome" frame peeking out.

Unless you live in a super urban area, I think that my journaling holds true for most backyards - at least in the semi-rural area where we live.  We can step out the back door, walk across the yard, and be knee high in fields of flowers where there is an absolutely endless array of birds and wildlife to be seen.  Right beyond that, there are woods to explore, with nothing else in view except a farm a couple of miles away up on a hill.  It is truly a blessing to have such beauty in our own backyard.

Thanks for stopping by and having a look.  I hope you have lots of fun planned for the weekend and are taking advantage of this last month of summer, before the craziness of school, life and Autumn take hold.

xoxo,

Shawna

Challenge YOUrself...and celebrate your age!

So here I am again...scrapping my age for a third time.  Yes, a third time.  I did it once, at almost 35...again at 35.75, and now for one final time at almost 36.  CLICK HERE to see my first "35 layout"...it was my favorite when I was first learning to work with gelatos.

You'd think I really enjoyed being 35 from all this scrapping I've done about it, eh? LOL Truth be told, it was a pretty good year.  I tend to go back and forth between being comfortable in my own skin, and dreading my own skin as it rounds the corner and heads down the hill to 40.  What's the going rate for botox these days?  ;-)  (Kidding...I already know what the going rate for botox is...shhhh...kidding again....maybe...a lady never tells...)

Anywhoooo the occasion for this layout is the the latest challenge over at Challenge YOUrself.  This month, we are challenging you all to scrap your age and the design team has a ton of awesome inspiration to get you going on this one.  CLICK HERE to see the rest of the design team layouts!

I really loaded up the mediums on the background of this one.  I started with mixed media paper, and used a mask to add some script lettering.  Then I went over that with a bunch of Heidi Swapp mists. Once those dried, I realized that the colors weren't quite as vibrant as I had hoped, so I took some gelatos and went over some areas of the mist to brighten them up and give them more color saturation. Then I added a bunch of circles by dipping a jar lid in black acrylic paint and layering them across the center of the page.  And THEN (and then and then and then lol) to incorporate the idea of time, I added some gears using a TCW mask and some modeling paste.

I also used a bunch of Maggie Holmes for Crate Paper vellum embellies on this layout, covering some sections of the gears with the vellum.  Then I found this great overlay for the photo that tied the colors in nicely and stuck that on there.  The brads are random stash brads...some Michael's brads, some Basic Grey, and some I have no idea brads.  The silver enamel dots are Studio Calico.

I hope that you will join us in this challenge...it's hard enough to scrap ourselves in layouts, and to add in the age disclosure element is pretty much the ultimate challenge.  So, are you ready to challenge YOUrself?


xoxo,

Shawna

LPS August Sketch

We have a super versatile sketch for you this month over at Life.Paper.Scrapbook and I was happy to have my first chance to scrap some of the Little Lady's birthday party photos using this sketch.  This year, we had a frog catching party at a local n

This challenge is sponsored by Scrappy Canary and they are providing a prize worth AU$25 for the winner of this challenge!

Scrappy Canary (formerly Polly Scrap! Kits) is Australia's premier crafting kit club, offering monthly Scrapbook, Pocket Life and Embellishment kits. Our kits offer a handpicked selection of the latest papers, embellishments and exclusive items all coordinated and shipped direct to your door. In addition to our kits our store also stocks other coordinating embellishments for those who love extra goodies to play with.

Thanks for stopping by!


xoxo,

Shawna

S365-7 Touch the Sky

Have you checked out the new CSI/Scrap365 collaborative case file?  CLICK HERE to check it out and to see the rest of the CSI design team's inspiration.

I was super excited to be chosen as a featured artist in the August/September issue of Scrap365 with my take on cracking the case. Scrap365 is an awesome magazine chock full of paper crafting inspiration from all over the world.  CLICK HERE to pick up your copy.  And man, I have to say, there is just nothing cooler than seeing your work displayed in the pages of a magazine. I was over the moon when I received my copy! Here is how I cracked the case.

For my evidence, I chose hot air balloons and birds. I decided to try my hand at a sort of Steampunk style for this layout, incorporating lots of vintage details and cogs and gears.  I layered up the background with a marbled mask from Prima, 7 Gypsies stamped hot air balloons, Tim Holtz birds, and a The Crafter's Workshop cog mask, which I brushed modeling paste over.  Then I stamped some more hot air balloons, colored them with Tim Holtz distress inks, and laminated them with Mod Podge, layering them over the stamped balloons with 3-D pop dots.

I had some great suitcase papers (can't remember who made them) in a little mixed media kit, and I fussy cut the pile of suitcases and used it to frame in the bottom right corner of the page.  Then I layered various flowers and a stamped and fussy cut butterfly at the base of the photo.  I wanted to give the illusion of the Little Lady literally floating above the ground (she's on the trampoline jumping her little heart out). :)

I added in a K&Co. bird embellishment, and a little metal lock I had in my stash to provide some different texture in the flowers.  The little typewriter font letters are Tim Holtz, and the sparkly letters are American Craft Thickers.

Remember, you have the entire month to play along with this case file, and the Top 5 entries will serve as CSI Guest Detectives in October.  Happy scrapping and happy Friday everyone!

xoxo,

Shawna