Hello Sunshine!

CSI Case File #82 is up and ready to be solved!  This is my last contribution as a Special Investigator.  I had a blast solving these case files and am so grateful for the opportunity.  The color scheme for this case file was vibrant and fun and just screamed summer.  Again, my Citrus Twist kit goodies came in handy and besides a couple of detail embellishments, I used the June kit for just about everything.  Here is my finished layout:

And here is the case file, and some closeups of how I solved it.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Your visits and comments are much appreciated!  Have a great weekend!

CSI Case File #81 Special Investigator Reveal

Hey everyone!  Case File #81 has just been unveiled over at CSI!  This is my third reveal for my July Special Investigator gig over there.  My last contribution will be revealed next Friday the 26th.  I will be sad for this little assignment to end, but at the same time, I am looking forward to participating in the challenges again and enjoying the anticipation of a new case file every Friday!  Anyway, here is this week's challenge:

I chose the "6 word memoir" for my testimony prompt and journaled "far from where I once was" on the right side of the photo.  I really enjoyed creating this visual representation of my particular journey of how I got to where I am today.  Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!  Now head over and see how the other investigators interpreted this week's file.  Have a great weekend!

Tie-Dyed Scrapbooking

I love tie-dye.  I love that it reminds me of 3-day festival concerts of my younger years; of good music and good friends and of my youth...and of my daughter, for whom I have tie-dyed socks, onesies, dresses, sweats, sweatshirts, t-shirts...yeah.  I think you get the idea.  So when I saw Jasmine Shea's tutorial on how to tie-dye a scrapbook layout I was smitten.  Literally had to try it right away.  And, as luck would have it, the mists I have in my stash match up nicely with the Scrap Friends color challenge this month.  This layout was such fun to put together - I definitely think I will be incorporating this technique into future layouts.   So here's my first go at a tie-dyed layout.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

This is a photo of my munchkin a couple of years ago.  She was looking up at the sky and I've had an idea for a layout with a "keep on the sunny side of life" type theme ever since I took the photo.  I loaded on some black chalk on the right side to give that side of the page a shadowy look to fit the quote.  I darkened the clouds on that side with some chalk and ink, and left the ones on the left bright and colorful.  And I inked the wooden "memo" embellie white to brighten it up.

I didn't know it when I started, but when I took the rubberbands off the tie-dyed paper, it seemed like the upper left hand corner was just begging to be changed into a sun.  So I tore some painters tape and made a mask for the rays, and then added some liquid pearls for shimmer.

I remembered hearing this quote in the past and loved it but didn't know its origin.  Quotegarden.com to the rescue. :)

I had some hand made chevron arrows leftover from a recent layout, so I used them to draw the eye in to the photo. Added some buttons and voila.  Finished.

Doilies aren't just for tables...who knew. ;-)

It's time for the June 1st challenge at About a Girl!  The first challenge this month is to create a layout using doilies.  I will be the first to admit...I'm not comfortable scrapping vintage, and I've never used a doily on a layout before in my life.  BUT I have to admit that the doilies worked to pull the colors from my daughter's blankie into this layout.  All in all, a scrappy success.  Stop over and visit us at AAG, check out my fellow Design Team members' take on this challenge, and play along!   Happy scrapping!

Autumn Joy

That's right.  I'm talking about the joyousness of autumn.  In spring.  When we are all looking forward to 80 degree days, consistent sunshine and warm water.  It almost seems blasphemous, doesn't it?  Playing along with an online sketch-of-the-week challenge this month on scrapbook.com, though, and the photos worked soooo...here it is.  I actually love, love, LOVE these photos so I'm happy I got them scrapped.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

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!