Using Transparency and some My Mind's Eye faves!

Whew! I wasn't sure I was going to get this done and posted today but I've finally had two seconds to sit down. I've been on the run trying desperately to get everything done and in order before I go in for surgery tomorrow. Nothing too big or terrible but it will have me down for a couple of days and that always means massive preparations in advance. I don't know why I stress so much because I have an extremely capable husband who will have this house running better than I usually do. (He makes me feel inadequate sometimes! lol)

Anyway, today is a Ten Things Tuesday at Practical Scrappers and this week's fun is centered around transparencies and clear embellishments. I chose to use my Cricut to make an embellishment for my page. I wanted to give some dimension and add a glossy layer to a butterfly. I first cut two butterflies from some My Mind's Eye patterned paper. I folded the butterflies in the middle and glued them together making sure they dried with the wings separated giving the butterfly some movement. I then cut the same butterfly shape from some transparency I had. I wanted to run a couple of strokes of paint on the underside of the transparency to let it stand out a little bit from the patterned paper.

 Once that dried I took the transparency and stapled it to layered butterfly I had already created and my embellishment was ready to add to my page.

Don't you love these pictures?? These are pictures my sister snapped as we were walking back to the car after taking all the kids out for a photo shoot. They might be the best ones from the day :)  Also, did you see the title? Those are stickers printed on transparency. Just another way to add that clear look!

Lisa

Top Ten!

Wow! We are getting down to the end. Only two more weeks to go before the winner of the Practical Scrappers Card Contest is announced. I know the competition was tight last week and I am surprised and excited to see that I have made it into the top 10. This weeks entry had to be a black and white card with a pop of color. The pop of color had to be 25% or less of the card so that the black and white remained the majority colors. The card had to also include at least some type of stitching or stitched look.

Here is my entry:

I chose to use blue as my pop of color. A friend had sent me some beautiful blue flowers that I thought would work well. I did want them to have a bit of a deeper color so I spray misted them with a touch of a aqua color mist to make them pop a bit more, I love the new trend of polaroid frames so I decided to use one I had in my stash and cover it with this Echo Park black and white diamond paper I had.  I liked the contrast of the polka dots showing through the frame. I lifted the frame with pop dots to give a little of a dimensional look and laid it over a piece of black cardstock I ran through my Texture Boutique. 

So excited to be getting close to the end and really hoping to make it through this round. I have to say there are some awesome cards this week and it's going to be tough. Head on over to the site and cast your vote. You get to choose two this week. ( And I'm hoping one of those votes will be for me!)

Have a super weekend!

Lisa

My Sunshine...

Today I have a sunshine layout to share...right in the middle of the first "real" snowstorm to hit us this winter. Still a little wimpy for my taste with only 7 or so inches. I am so in the mood for a big one! Anyway, I did have to drag my kids out of bed and convince them I wasn't messing with them when I said they had to get ready for school. They were so sure it would be a snow day. I think living in Virginia spoiled them.

Our challenge on the Practical Scrappers site today was to use the colors yellow, gray and sky blue. I had an older Teresa Collins line that was perfect for this because it has so many patterns and papers with the gray and yellow. I found an Echo Park Freedom paper that had come in a kit I had received recently and it had the perfect 4x6 card with just the right amount of blue. This became my title piece. 

I used a couple more of my favorite photos from a family photo shoot by Erica at Images for a Lifetime. I tell you, this woman can get the best personality pictures. I am sad that we moved and can't use her again. I still have years of her photos to catch up on though so I will be okay for awhile.

I wish I could have gotten a better quality picture that showed off the yellow and gray better. It looks so much better in person. I need some editing classes I think...

Head over to the Practical Scrappers blog and have a look at the other amazing layouts and projects using this color combo. As always I am amazed at what the design team came up with.

Have a great day, and for all my friends getting snowed in in the Midwest stay safe and warm and I wish I was with you! What are you doing with your snow day??

Lisa

SWAT Drill #2

Drill #2 for February is up on the S.W.A.T. blog and it is an awesome sketch challenge this week. There is a super fabulous prize involved too. I have to say, I wish I was eligible to play for these prizes. Lanette has done an awesome job getting sponsors and donations.

Here is the sketch that was created by Janessa, one of the ladies on the design team. It's a super fun sketch to work with.

I stayed pretty true to the basic layout of  the sketch but chose to add or change a few elements. Instead of using a large circle behind my photos I used a background stamp to add a subtle textured look behind the photos and papers. Other than that I pretty much followed the design and added a couple of extra strips of washi tape to the top left corner because it felt a little empty to me. I pulled out some older My Mind's Eye papers that I have had sitting in my collection for awhile. I have a hoarding issue with My Mind's Eye. One of my all time favorites.

There it is. This is the view I most often get of my children these days. A moment without electronics in their hands or ear buds in their ears is priceless.

If you haven't had a chance to check out my last post I would love for you to scroll back and check it out. My card for the next round of the Practical Scrappers card contest is up and voting is taking place right now.

Lisa

And So It Continues! Top 16...

Well, I'm still in it. I was worried this week because there were so many fabulous cards to vote for in the last round. This week we were challenged to draw inspiration from the picture below and make a card that is masculine.

I chose to focus on the colors and patterns. I liked the triangle shapes as well so I used these to create a sunburst card that I thought was clean, simple and manly enough for most men to be okay with :)

Love the wooden arrows. I'm kinda becoming obsessed with the wood pieces lately!

Head over to the Practical Scrappers website and take a look at all the creations for this week. I have some very tough competition. I would love to have your vote for the next round.

Happy Weekend!

Lisa

Ten Things Tuesday: Paper Clips and Staples

It's Tuesday again and I am up on the Practical Scrappers blog. Today we are taking paper clips and staples and finding ways to use them on your crafty projects. Such a basic supply that most people have laying around their office or junk drawer so why keep them there collecting dust, right?

I created a two page layout and had the BEST idea in my head for how the sun embellishment I was making was going to end up looking when finished. You know how you have this picture of a finished product but it doesn't end up looking just right? Yeah, that's definitely what happened here. BUT we are crafters and when something doesn't work we try to make the best of it so...

There you have it! I actually like the way my sun turned out even though it wasn't exactly what I had envisioned.  I began by cutting a 3 inch circle with my Cricut. I then began folding and stapling 3 different ribbons and stapling them onto the circle. Since the goal of the assignment was to use staples I wanted the staples to actually show, but after stapling all the ribbon on the original circle it looked bulky, messy and not much like a sun. I decided to cut a second circle out and pop dot it over the stapled ribbon to give the sun a finished look. You can't actually see the staples, but by using staples to attach the ribbon I was able to give the layered look of the ribbon pieces by folding the ribbon into a v shape and attaching at the fold. I also took a paper clip I had laying around and added a small flower sticker embellishment to the top. I added this to the top of a photo in the  "white space" of the photo to add a little interest to that side of the page. Most of this page is done using the Summer Fresh line from Simple Stories and it was perfect for the lake photos.

Head over to the Practical Scrappers blog and get some more great ideas for using these basic supplies. Check out our Facebook page too. We just passed 2000 fans! Wahoo!

Lisa

On to the Top 20!

Good morning! It's Friday and I couldn't be happier. It's been quite the stressful week so I am really hoping for a relaxing weekend. We may get a little bit of snow too. Not as much as the East Coast, but I'm hoping for more than a dusting!

The top 20 were announced today for the Practical Scrappers card contest and guess who made it?? Yeah! I'm super excited to be moving on and would love your vote for the next round. 10 cards will be chosen by your votes and 5 by the PS administrative team.

Here's a look at my card. We had to make a birthday card using polka dots.

I incorporated the polka dots in my background by embossing with a polka dot folder I have. The paper I used was leftover scraps from my layout earlier in the week using the Simple Stories Snap collection.  I thought the buttons sewed on fit the polka dot theme too. Thanks for taking a look and I would love and appreciate you taking time to vote for me.

Lisa

Buddies

Hey! Just checking in and sharing another quick layout that I put together using products I had left from the November Citrus Twist kit. I love these cute photos of my boys with the son of my husband's childhood friend.

Lots of clustering going on here, but I love the finished look.

Have an awesome day!
Lisa

Makes Me Happy

It's another 10 Things day at Practical Scrappers. Today we were challenged to use a heart punch. I love the current arrows trend. I have found myself using arrows quite often lately. I decided to use my heart punches to make arrows for this layout about my boys. Before I get started with the details I have to get this out there... I love this picture. It melts my heart to look back at these boys when they were so cute! And the personalities definitely shine through. Can you tell which one is the big goof ball of the family?! I totally want to turn the hands of time back and snuggle these boys close. Darn that they are so big now.

Okay, enough mushy... on to the good stuff. Here is the layout.

For the arrows I punched 4 large hearts out. I "fringed" 2 of them to make the back of the arrows and used the other two for the points. I also punched two smaller hearts and placed them in front of the fringed hearts to add a little more something to them. This is the first page I've tried with the sunburst design. I love how it turned out though it wasn't as easy to get it to come out straight as some have suggested! I am such a measurer and perfectionist that it was really hard for me to let it go when it wasn't exactly perfect at the end, but I'm happy with how it looks now that I've stepped away from it. The papers are from the Simple Stories Snap collection and I finished off with wooden arrows from Studio Calico and various letters from my ridiculous letter stash.  Oh, and that little bit of washi to finish the edges... yes, I have become a bit of a washi addict. Anyone else with me??

I hope you take time to check out the post on Practical Scrappers today and grab some ideas for using  your hearts. With Valentine's Day sneaking up it may come in handy!

Lisa

Behind the Lens- S.W.A.T Challenge

Happy Weekend to you!
I was super glad for Saturday morning to finally be here. I love that my boys are teenagers and love their sleep which in turn means mama gets some extra shut eye on the weekends. There are perks to teenagers... you just have to look for them, right? (Just kidding. I love my boys!)

Today is an exciting day. The first challenge is up on the new S.W.A.T (Scrap Warriors Advanced Training) blog. I am so looking forward to being part of this design team for several reasons. One, the amount of talent of the other designers is super cool and two, the challenges and tutorials are really meant to stretch your ability and help you step up to the next level of creativity. The challenges will post every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month with tutorials and inspiration on the in between Saturdays.

Today's challenge is all about me. (or you if you come play!) How often do we scrap everyone and everything besides ourselves? If you are like me, you tend to live behind the camera and pictures or stories of you tend to be rare. I occasionally show up in a picture but often in the background. Could be because I tend to hide when I see a camera that I'm not actually holding, but that's for another time.   For this layout, I chose to take a self portrait using my mirror. This was a first for me and let's just say it's a good thing we have digital cameras to work with judging by the amount of photos it took to get one that I was happy with! The journaling really speaks to what I hope to begin working towards this year. There are so many things that I would like to begin pursuing, connections I would like to start working on, life I would like to start living fully with my family... for me that means stepping out and stepping up. Not being afraid to try something new and not being held back by things I've been held back by for so long. So here is to the new me!

Now I'd love to see what you can do with this challenge. Why not make a page that is just about you, who you are, what you are thinking or loving at this moment, or what you would love to pursue? There are so many possibilities waiting to be scrapped. Join us at S.W.A.T and link up your layout. You have until February 25th. There is a great prize to be won full of paper, embellishments and fun!

Oh, and if you have a chance you may want to head over to the Echo Park Facebook page today and give them a like. They are super close to 30,000 fans and are giving a Silhouette Cameo away as well as some other great prizes when they hit the mark. Mention that I sent you and we both get an extra entry. The paper used in my layout above is Echo Park's Eclectic line and is one of my favorites.

Have a super weekend.
Lisa

I Made the Top 25!

I am so excited. What a fun day. Today I learned that the card that I submitted for the Practical Scrappers Card contest made the cut and I am in the top 25.

This is the card that I submitted for the contest. The theme for this round was love or Valentine's. I created this card for my hubby for Valentine's Day. Shhh... don't tell him! I may just have to give it to him a little early.

I designed the card knowing I wanted to use a negative cut made with my Cricut and back it with this awesome pink and red washi tape I had just received. I felt that it needed a little pop though so I added the blue which happens to be a fave to add with this color combo. I just love the way it looks together. I had some white Thickers letters but they just didn't pop the way I wanted them to, so I misted them with my Tattered Angels Chalkboard mist. I finished off the card with punched hearts that I layered and popped up to add some dimension.

I would love if you would swing by the Practical Scrappers Top 25 post and vote me into the next round. How's that for begging?? While you are there check out the other amazing designs and vote for any others that catch your eyes. There are some awesome cards!

Lisa