I'm Alive! I'm Alive! & Waltzingmouse # 68

I'm alive!  I'm alive!  I know I haven't posted much over the last week.  I've been working on a few things here and there, taking my time, and generally not feeling terribly inspired or motivated.  It's so pretty outside, it's been hard for me to put in time in my craft room.   But today I am back with a card I made over the weekend for the newest Waltzingmouse sketch challenge.    Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

Recipe:

Paper:  My Mind's Eye - 12 Days of Christmas

Cartridges:  Gingerbread (Holly)

Spellbinders:  Labels Fourteen

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse (sentiment & flourish) Close to My Heart (tree)

Twine:  The Twinery

Thanks for stopping by!

Sweet Baby Girl - A Page for Brandy

My best friend was going to come over today so we could work on some craft related projects together.  Unfortunately, my son is under the weather with a stomach bug and she didn't want to risk it.  I don't blame her.  I could tell she was really disappointed though and since she's been harassing me to scrapbook her kids I figured I would spend the afternoon crafting just for her.  Just this one time.  I started with Sketch Savvy Sketch - #61.  I pulled out some paper that I haven't used yet - it's from Authentique and the paper line is Journey.  This is a new paper company (at least for me) and I really love the quality and look of their paper.  I found it at Archiver's (of course) and I was sad that they only had a few of the 12 x 12 pages.  I did pick up a 6x6 pad which I used in conjunction with a few of the 12 x 12 pieces I was able to snag.  So, along with Authentique, I used a few scrap pieces from my ever dwindling supply of My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose, some Coordinations, and some Bazzil.  Now, some people might think it's strange that I used a primarily blue paper line to create a page for a baby girl.  It's not odd, it's just different! I think it's entirely possible to scrapbook for either gender using colors that are traditionally associated with the other gender.  I am not shy about adding pink to layouts I do with my boys.  There's a trick to it, but it can be done, and done well.  Here is my completed page . . .

I stuck pretty close to the sketch for this page.  The banner was cut out using the Close to My Heart Art Philosophy cartridge, and then stamped with the coordinating stamps that came with the Art Philosophy bundle.  I also used the CTMH Vintage Type larger triangle stamp for the embellishment on the far right.  All were stamped with Stampin' Up's turquoise ink.  The mat for the picture was created using Elegant Edges.  I used an oblong image and then stretched it a bit further using my gypsy.  I then added the picture, but up on pop dots for some dimension.  I also wrapped a ribbon around the picture which is a first for me - I really like it!  The word "Sweet" is from the Groovy Times cartridge and "Girl" is from Opposites Attract.  I recently saw one of the Cricut Circle blog ladies use this font and I really loved it.  Truth be told, I rarely use any Cricut fonts because of the ease in cutting them out using MTC, but there are some real gems in my cartridge library that I am going to try to pay a bit more attention to them.  The flowers are made from Flower Shoppe and Mother's Day Bouquet.  I know you all have seen them a million times before, but I like them so much you'll probably see them at least a few hundred thousand more before I tire of them. Sorry. 

So, you'll also note that I added some stitching.  My sewing machine is fairly new and I was trying out a new stitch which is lovely, except I still can't sew straight to save my life.  Back to drawing lines I go!  I hope you guys like this page.  Actually I hope Brandy likes it more - this one is actually for her book.

Recipe:

Paper:  Authentique (Journey), Bazzil, My Mind's Eye (Stella & Rose), Coordinations

Cartridges:  Art Philosophy, Elegant Edges, Flower Shoppe, Mother's Day Bouquet, Groovy Times, Opposites Attract

Stamps:  CTMH Art Philosophy Bundle, CTMH Vintage Type, Flourishes, Ink:  Turquoise (Stampin' Up)

Ribbon & Brads:  My Stash

Thanks for stopping by!!

Someone Just Turned Six!

Actually, it was a while ago, but I am just getting around to making a page to commemorate the event.  This is another duplicate layout.  My book is almost finished and at this rate, my Mom's will be more than halfway done before we even get to Halloween.  Yes!  About this page ~ I started with a sketch from Sketch Savvy (#60).  I am really enjoying using these as of late.   I also broke out my new Art Philosophy cartridge to create numerous elements.  One of the reasons I was so excited about this cartridge was the ability to stamp images on matching die-cuts.   It's why I love my Spellbinders dies so much - I can stamp and then find a great, if not completely coordinating die-cut image to compliment the stamp.   Here, I actually stamped the image with Stampin' Up Craft Ink and then applied white embossing powder to give the stamped image some texture.  I wish I could have made it a bit thicker, but other than I am really happy with them.  I cut the stars from Art Philosophy  as well, stamped it with the coordinating stamp, added a little bling, and gave them a bit of dimension.  The tag at the top is also from Art Philosophy, stamped with black craft ink and embossed with black embossing powder.  I wanted a shadow or mat for it, so I created one using a slightly larger imaged that I altered a bit to fit the shape correction with my gypsy. The SIX is cut from Graphically speaking.  I have been looking at this image forever, thinking it would make a great cut for a birthday page.  And hey look, I made a birthday page!  Lol.  This was a fairly quick layout.  Sometimes these duplicates take several days to work through but I got these done in a one afternoon/evening.

                     

The circle was cut from George and Basic Shapes and the SIX is cut from Graphically Speaking.  I have been looking at this image forever, thinking it would make a great cut for a birthday page.  And hey look, I made a birthday page!  Lol.  This was a fairly quick layout.  Sometimes these duplicates take several days to work through but I got these done in a one afternoon/evening.  Thanks for stopping by! 

Recipe:

Paper:  DCWV Celebration Stack

Cartridges:  George & Basic Shapes, Graphically Speaking, Art Philosophy

Spellbinders Dies:  Long Rectangles & Scallop Rectangles

Stamps:  Close to My Heart Art Philosophy Coordinating Stamps

Ink:  Stampin' Up Craft Ink & Basic Black

Vellum Quote:  K & Company Hopscotch

Thanks for stopping by!