CSI #162 - Star Party

I just scrolled through the blog and realized my last entry was in November of last year!  And my last CSI case file was even farther back than that...September of 2014!  Life got busy and overwhelming for awhile, and something had to give or I was going to lose what was left of my sanity.  So I took a break from scrapbooking, enjoyed the holidays with my family, and focused on my new venture as an educational consultant for Usborne Books & More.

This past Friday, I got an email revealing the latest CSI case file.  We had just gone to an astronomy event at our local nature center and I had great pictures for the file.  Next thing I knew, I was back at my craft desk after months and months away, dusting everything off and gathering my "evidence" for the file.  Here is my result.

And here in the case file.  You can check out how the design team cracked the case and play along by clicking HERE.

A few closeups.  Here in the top left hand corner I repeated much of the pattern used in the main portion of the layout below.  The white stars were made with modeling paste and a stencil.

I also incorporated some wooden stars that I tinted with yellow gelato to give another layer of dimension.

I should have added another two epoxy dots here to represent Jupiter and all four of its moons.  I think I will do that now!  :-)

When all is said and done, even though I am a little bit rusty with my scrapping, it felt good to get my feet wet and get a layout under my belt.  Crossing my fingers that I have more time for scrapbooking in the coming weeks and months!  Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo,

Shawna

Challenge Yourself...with a sketch!

Wow...it has been a really long time since I have posted!  The last month or so has been crazy town around here and I haven't had any quality scrappy time in what feels like forever, so I am glad to finally have a layout to share!  That said, it's with a bit of sadness that I share this one, because it is my last layout as a design team member for Challenge YOUrself.  I have loved being a part of the team so much, but with my schedule lately, I have had to scale WAY back on my extracurricular commitments.

So, without any further delay, here is the awesome sketch we have for you this month at Challenge YOUrself and the layout that I created with it.  CLICK HERE to see the rest of the design team's fabulous work with this sketch.

It's a bit of a non-traditional autumn page, because I didn't use a lot of the typical colors you think of when you think of autumn.  Well, I did, but in very small doses throughout the page, with some reds and mustardy yellow.  Instead I played off of the colors in the Little Lady's face paint butterfly and I pulled a bunch of teal into the page.

Lots of layers with washi tape, doily scraps, ribbon, and some gesso and Heidi Swapp teal mist.

I pulled about a bunch of word and phrase stamps from Citrus Twist kits and used them to add some contrast to the layers in the background.

Finally, I added my photo, and printed it in various sizes to get the layers that you see in the sketch.

So there you have it!  Remember, you have the whole month to play along with us, so get your mojo ready, your scrapbook supplies out, and come share your layout with us!

xoxo,

Shawna

Case File #141 - Millipedes

Yes you read that right...millipedes.  I'm scrapping about millipedes.  I told you in my last post that I was scrapping about something a little...different this time.  Hehe.  And actually, if you know of my daughter's love for bugs, you know it was only a matter of time before a creepy crawly made its way onto one of my pages. ;-)

Here is my layout and the CSI case file that inspired it.

It's a peculiar looking case file isn't it?  Kind of perfect for a peculiar looking little creature!  I chose pen work and epoxy accents as my evidence, and then, as prompted by the testimony, I chose to document something that many people consider strange.  Or creepy, at the very least.  I also chose to make a little quiz about what I learned when I decided to read up on these little leggy wonders.  Turns out, while they might at first seem creepy, they're actually pretty cool.

The quiz is tucked into that little pocket above, which I made out of some bug paper I picked up on clearance a few years back.

The Little Lady has been a lover of bugs since she was old enough to toddle, and I knew one day that paper was going to come in handy.  So, are you ready for the quiz?  See how many you can get right!

TRUE OR FALSE?

Millipedes, like their name suggests, have 1,000 legs.	FALSE.  Most millipedes have less than 100 legs and, in fact, when millipedes hatch, they have just 6 legs, adding a set of legs each time they molt and add a body segment.  This is called anamorphic development.
Millipedes are omnivores and eat both vegetation and other small insects.	FALSE.  Millipedes are nature’s gentle decomposers and only eat leaf litter.
When threatened, millipedes can sting predators to protect themselves.	FALSE.  Millipedes are docile creatures that do not bite, do not have pincers, and cannot sting.  They do, however, have special glands (called ozopores) that give off a foul smelling and tasting compound meant to repel predators.
Millipedes court females with songs and back rubs.	TRUE!  Females initially curl up in a ball assuming an approaching millipede is a threat, so the male loosens her up by singing her songs and walking on her back with all of those legs, giving her a millipede massage!
Millipedes were the first animals to live on land.	TRUE!  Millipede fossils found in Scotland date back 428 million years and are the oldest fossils to have spiracles (for breathing air), suggesting that millipedes were the first animals to make the move from water to land.
Millipedes make good pets.	TRUE!  They are docile, easy to feed, and require little maintenance.

Kind of cool, right?  Nature never ceases to amaze. :)  Here are some closeups.

Thanks for visiting!  I hope you have a wonderful autumn weekend planned!

xoxo,

Shawna

CSI #140 - Permanent Ink

Well it's Friday and I just realized that I never shared my CSI layout for last week's reveal!  Don't worry - you still have a couple more days to crack the case, if you haven't joined us yet. :)  And be sure to come back and visit me tonight for the reveal of case file #141...I'm going to have a very unexpected scrap subject, complete with a quiz. ;-)  Now, back to Case #140.

I loved the neutral tones in this week's file, and was thrilled to have the opportunity to scrap a photo that is very near and dear to my heart.  Here is my layout, featuring my three favorite girls from my college days.  This photo was actually taken 5 years ago at my baby shower, when we were all back together to celebrate the upcoming birth of the Little Lady.  We thought it would be fun to get a snapshot of our first group adventure, that took place way back in 1996, when we were all just barely 18 and ready to take on the world.  Our first tattoos!

And here's the case file that inspired the layout.

For my evidence, I chose wet medium, polka dots, string and woodgrain.  My journaling is tucked in the woodgrain envelope behind the photo and reads as follows:

"We were barely 18, fresh faced, out of state (well, except Heather), and ready to take on the world. We wanted to rebel, leave our mark, and be crazy and free. First on the agenda? Tattoos. We all loaded up and headed into NY on our first bonding adventure as a Fearsome Foursome and walked out permanently inked and bonded for life. This was of course just one of many adventures to come...I think it's safe to say that we left our own permanent ink mark on our small town college in many different ways. Love these girls so much. The years and physical distance between us will never change that."

Here are some close-ups.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo,

Shawna

CSI #139 - Cruisin'

Another week down!  And down with it goes the temperature.  Fall is in the air around here, folks, and THAT makes me one happy camper! :-D

Time for CSI's latest case file, complete with a fab sketch by Em Stafrace of Page Drafts.  I LOVED the bold colors and the black and white contrast this week.  Had a lot of fun doodling with my pen on this one too.  So, without further delay, I bring you this week's case file.  And Beau. Who really, really, REALLY loves to Cruise.

This layout is yet another "little bit of everything in my stash" layout, incorporating Studio Calico, Basic Grey, Heidi Swapp, Pink Paislee, Crate Paper, Citrus Twist Kits originals, and more.  I started out with white cardstock matted over black, and layered some teal watercolor and gelato letting it pool in the two main areas of the page.

Followed the sketch pretty closely adding a cluster in the upper right hand corner and keeping with the ribboned edged look with the layers, just tweaking it a bit to have the ribbons going horizontally instead of vertically.  I added some scribbled circles underneath to tie in the scribbled heart on the paper.

I chuckle every time I look at this photo.  I mean, really.  Can you not totally picture him saying "Sweet Ride" in his handsome manly man voice? Hehehe  That button is Basic Grey Hey Boy and my absolute favorite little detail on his page.  The black ribbon detail you see in the background there is part of my evidence - something fuzzy (it's velvet), and I repeated it in the top cluster above as well.  My other evidence is stripes and two of something (the blue acetate arrows).

LOL Man I love this dog.

I did a whole lotta doodling on this layout.  I hand traced the chevrons, then doodled on them and fussy cut them out and glued them on.  I stamped the arrows on the white cardstock in front, outlined it with a sharpie, cut it out and glued that on as well.  The large black base triangle is just white carstock colored in with black sharpie.  I liked the look of it because it isn't quite solid black - in real life, you can tell it has been colored that way.

My testimony obviously journals about this furball animal of ours that we love so much.  He LIVES for car rides.

I hope you've enjoyed your visit and hopefully found a little inspiration.  Come play along with us at CSI and have a great weekend!