Monday, March 31, 2014

Laugh.

Happy Monday, friends!  Today I'm sharing a layout I created for March's sketch challenge at Once Upon a Sketch.  Just squeezing this in in the nick of time, since today is the deadline!  Here is the sketch and the journaling inspiration:




And here is my layout.


I used my Faber Castell gelatos (the Tropical set) and applied them with a paint brush in a watercolor fashion.  Then I doodled underneath the photo and layered up some papers and jute.  My journaling says:

True friends make life worth living.  Watching your friendship with Addison grow, as each of you grow, has been a joy. I hope that when you are both adults, you will have a friendship as special and as strong as my friendship with Addi's mom.  Love you girls so much.

Here are a few closeups:




Thank you for visiting.  Stop back tonight when a special Scrap 365-CSI challenge is revealed!


xoxo,


Shawna

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Sketchabilities and CSI post!

My whirlwind of a weekend is coming to an end, and I finally am able to sit down for 2 seconds to share a couple of layouts I created for Sketchabilities and CSI!   Here they are.

Sketchabilities is back with another fabulous sketch...for some reason I really struggled with this one, but can't win em all right? ;-)  Here's the sketch and my layout.  CLICK HERE to see the rest of the awesome design team reveal and to play along!








Then we have a wonderful casefile for you over at CSI.  CLICK HERE to see the reveal!  Here is the case file and my take on it.





For my evidence, I chose circles and a solid black background.  Then I used the inspiration word "process" to document my daughter's first attempt at sewing! :)

Thank you for visiting!


xoxo,


Shawna

Friday, March 21, 2014

Hope

I never thought I would put these colors together, but I've learned through CSI to never say never to a color palette!  And I'm pretty happy with the way it came together!  You can see what the rest of the design team came up with by CLICKING HERE.

 And here's my take on it.


For my evidence I chose grid/mesh, pen work and mixed media background.

Love this photo taken by my very talented photographer friend, Heather Vavra.  You can check out more of her work by CLICKING HERE. 


For "mesh" I painted a piece of burlap white, and then I used black acrylic paint and crisscrossed a grid design onto the paper with a rubber fringe-like tool thingy that I got with a Making Memories distressing kit years ago. (I'm so good at explaining things.  LOL)  I colored some glass bead gel gray and filled in some of the circles with that.


I started out with my primrose and blush Heidi Swapp mists, and then I added some Tattered Angel Plain Jane mist in baseboard (a semi-opaque mist).  The dark red is also Plain Jane mist. Then I scraped some modeling paste across the page.  To add a different texture behind the photo I layered brown jute twine and embroidery floss behind there.


The other circles modeling paste and black sharpie that I wet a bit to blend.  It was never meant to be that thick of a black border, but I had some issues...


For my journaling, I used the inspiration word "imagine."  It got pretty lengthy, so it's secured to the back of the layout on a full piece of paper.  But it all ties in to my title word "hope."  Here is what it says:

When I look at you, I often find myself trying to imagine what the world will look like when you are a grown woman, and maybe even a mom yourself.  What it will look like for your children.  There's no denying how quickly the world is changing…and although everyone seems to think it's changing more quickly than ever, I think that change has always come at warp speed.   And I truly embrace some of it.   But there are things about the direction the world is moving that I don't love; in fact there are quite a few things that terrify me and make me worry about the fate of future generations, including your generation.  There are so many children growing up without core values, without respect for themselves, the earth, and each other.  Morality has become an afterthought.  We have forgotten the beauty of interacting with one another as human beings; instead more often interacting with electronics and other inanimate objects.  We, as a people, have become detached.  Disconnected.  We've stopped caring. 

At the same time, despite the direction we have been moving, I know that we can reverse the route and take our change in a more positive direction.  And it starts with the you.  I used the Maria Montessori quote for this layout because she fundamentally believed in the ability of the child.  While many in her day saw children as empty canvases to be molded into "productive citizens," she saw children as intelligent and capable little beings from birth.  Just the way I have always seen you.  This belief, among others, is one of the reasons why we enrolled you in Montessori School.  Maria Montessori's method supports the education of the whole child, and fosters fulfillment to the highest potential – spiritually, emotionally, physically, and intellectually.  The greatest teaching that Montessori gives you is a deep understanding of the fact that we are all connected; to each other, and to our earth.  Nothing we do is without purpose and nothing is without effect.  From your youngest years we have supported what you naturally have known to do: to love, respect and take responsibility for yourself, for your community, and for this earth.  And I know that those very things are deeply ingrained in you already…right down to the deepest depths of your soul.  And that, my sweet little munchkin, gives me hope for the future.

xoxo

**side note I saw something on Facebook this afternoon about the direction our earth is going because of human greed and disregard each other and for nature, etc. Timely, because I had just finished the journaling for this layout this morning.   Let's hope that future generations do a better job of caring for this earth and for each other than we and the generations before us have. Stepping off my soapbox now!  LOL

xoxo,


Shawna


Thursday, March 20, 2014

Play!

Good morning!  Sketchabilities is back with another fabulous sketch for you all!  Come play along with sketch #11 by clicking HERE!  On another note, Sketchabilities is having a design team call!  These girls are super talented and lovely to work with and I hope that some of you will check it out and apply!  You can click HERE for all of the details.  Now back to the sketch:


And here's my take on it.


 I wanted the layout to feel as fun and playful as the photo, so I went mixed media crazy on this one...the background contains paints, mists, gelatos, gesso....it's all on there.  Then I added a sunburst stencil with a slightly transparent white mist, and scribbled some yellow gelato in the rays, outlining it all with black sharpie.


I painted some fabric Thickers for the first "play", the second is an embossed stamp, and the third is a Heidi Swapp sticker that I covered with white acrylic paint.


The circle was just cut from cardboard, and then covered with paints and acrylics.  The white parts were embossed with white embossing powder, then the whole thing was outlined with black ink.  I love the way this circle turned out!


I layered frames over and under the photo and added a bit of a paper strip at the end.


The clouds were great dimensional stickers, which I covered with modeling paste to make them "fluffy." Then I added some pink glass beads just to pull in some of the pink from Neighbor Joe's shirt.



And that's it!  This sketch is seriously awesome so please do come play along with us!

xoxo,


Shawna


Friday, March 14, 2014

CSI CF# 114 - How Many?

TGIF!!  No, seriously...T.G.I.F.  OMG not a moment too soon.  It's been a crazy couple of weeks around here and I am ready for the weekend!  But first, it's time to reveal CSI's latest case file, complete with an amazing and inspirational sketch from none other than Em Straface of Page Drafts!  CLICK HERE to see the full reveal and the rest of the design team's amazing layouts! Here's the case file and sketch:



And here's my take on it.


I switched up the "v" and put it left to right vs. up and down.  Other than that, I stayed pretty true to the sketch.  The photo was edited with Aviary and then I covered it with a layer of All Night Media's Liquid Embossing in Antique Photo.  I have had this stuff in my stash since I started scrapbooking about 8 years ago!  My evidence is circles and...crap I just realized I only have one piece of evidence. Sometimes I get carried away working on a layout and completely forget to follow the prompts! Can we take the "numbers" piece of evidence and count that since I journaled about "how many?'  Please?  :)


I started out with a layer of teal Heidi Swapp Color Shine spray behind the photo and then added some drops of black here and there.  The "Je T'aime" stamp is a great little $1 Michael's find and the gorgeous butterflies on the jute twine are a handmade item from a prior month's Citrus Twist Kit.


For the arrows, I alternated vellum floral arrows with stenciled arrows that were covered with modeling paste and then colored with another circular stencil.  I've done this on a few layouts (made arrows from stencils and modeling paste) and I really like the dimension it gives.  Man I love modeling paste. <3

Finally, for the journaling, I used International Question Day as my inspiration.  My journaling touches on something I find myself wondering more and more every day as I watch my daughter grow...she has so quickly gone from being a baby to a big girl and I am holding tight to the little moments of toddler-hood that we have left.  I think that most moms can relate to these musings...

Anyway, come play along with us at CSI!  I can't wait to see what you create!  Have a FABULOUS weekend!

xoxo,


Shawna