Shaped Cards

Good Monday morning! Spring break is over, at least for one kid. The other gets an extended holiday due to the stomach flu deciding to visit. I personally think he would rather be at school given how he is feeling at the moment. You know they are really sick when the tv and video games aren't even holding appeal. lol
I want to share a quick and easy card I made for the Practical Scrappers shaped cards feature this last weekend. I love the look of shaped cards and there are so many different and fun looks that can be created nowadays with the help of die cut machines which I have to say I am so thankful to have. I cut this fun butterfly card out with my Silhouette Portrait and it was so super easy. I didn't have to do much to embellish it, but did add a touch of bling to pretty it up. I am so ready for spring...the butterfly seemed like the perfect thing to help hurry it along.

Head over to Practical Scrappers to be inspired with more fun shaped cards.
Lisa

Practical Scrappers: Scrapping our Stash Hop

Happy Spring! Oh, I am so excited to be moving into a time of new growth, warmer weather and staying light outside later! This winter has been a long one and I am definitely ready for it to be over. Today I am hopping with the Practical Scrappers team and we are once again sharing our projects using our fabulous stash. If you came here from Kelly Jean's blog you are on the right track. Didn't she do an awesome job?

My project today is a quick and easy card using a fabulous little bit of Little Yellow Bicycle I had sitting in my scraps drawer. I also used an Elle's Studio circle tag and some random embellisments I had sitting in my pile. I love how this makes me feel springy. I'm not sure if it is the flowers, the happy or the fabulous light shade of blue. Anyway, here it is. 

While I have you here I am also going to share a second card that I should have shared earlier this week. Unfortunately it's been the week of the migraine again, stomach virus for the youngest, and I have been subbing most of the week as well. All that to say this is my project for 10 things twine that went up at Practical Scrappers a couple of days ago. you will want to make sure to check out the great ideas the other gals had too since most of us have jumbled rolls of twine sitting around somewhere :) 

This card fits perfectly for today too as it is all stuff from my stash as well. See that green shamrock button in the center?? I bet I've had that in my stash for well over 5 years now if not longer, always waiting for the right thing to use it on. Yeah! Love using that stash. For the twine I looped the string around my fingers 3 times and then twisted the loops to make a stem. I doubled the heart shapes for the clover and pop dotted them up so I could hide the ends of the twine and make it look a little more finished.

It's time for you to hop on. You are heading to see Nicole Laha next. I know she has some fabulousness to share too. Have fun hopping.

Lisa

It's Sketch Time with S.W.A.T.

Hello again. It's time for the second March drill with S.W.A.T. and this time we get to play with a fabulous sketch. I had some pictures of Nathan's field day from kindergarten (yes, I am that far behind when I go back to chronological scrapping) and decided to try to take the sketch farther and make it into a double page layout. I decided the best way to use it was to use the sketch in it's original form for the first side and then I rotated the sketch 180 degrees and used it for the second page. I like the way it turned out.

First here is the sketch that we are using for this challenge.

This is what I came up with. I liked the circle shape of the doilies and thought that worked well with the schoolish theme of the pictures. I also decided to use a picture where the subtitle would have gone on the second page and used more than one photo in the main area of both sketches. I love to take sketches and use them as a jumping point to incorporating my own ideas.

Don't you love the Imaginisce Childhood memories line that I used here. So bright and perfect for those elementary years. I also used my Cricut to cut out the title as well as the arrows and circles. I added the splatters onto the background because it was looking extremely plain. I am still not sure I should have, but what's done is done.

Thanks for joining me today and make sure you check out all of the fun projects from the design team on the S.W.A.T blog. There is a prize pack of new Gelattos up for grabs if you take time to join in this challenge with us. I would love to see you there!

Have a super Saturday.

Lisa

Mixed Media Madness- Choose Love

I'm back for a second post today to share my newest mixed media project that incorporates my one word challenge for myself for the month of February. I was excited to see that our first drill for March on the S.W.A.T. blog for this month involved mixed media as I have started to step outside my creative box and experiment a little with some fun techniques lately. I have to tell you, it is a stretch for me because it often involves letting ago my perfectionist, line it up and make it look even tendencies in order to let things just happen. I do enjoy trying out different mediums though and experimenting a little with textures and colors.
In February I decided to focus on love as my one word challenge for this year. My word for the year is Choose and I decided to make a conscious effort to focus on choosing love and what that means. For me, choosing love goes back to a phrase that I have been challenged with over the last couple of years that incorporates how I want to live my life so others see what I am about. Love God, Love Others. Four simple words but with actions behind those four simple words a world of difference can be made around us. As a Christian I feel that we sometimes get a lot of criticism based off of harsh or critical behavior of a few. To me, living my life for Christ and showing others that He is important to me boils down to what I do to show these four simple words in my life. If I truly love God and work to build intimacy in my relationship with Him that will build an outflow in my life that will impact others more than any words I can say. And the same is true with loving others. If I love others the way that God loves others I will show it with kindness, gentleness, acceptance, peace, empathy, compassion... all things that would like to see grow within myself.  God's love for me and for everyone is not harsh, angry, judgemental, or critical. It is full of mercy and grace and a kindness that we can only begin to understand. Because I want to be able to be a vessel of God's love I created a reminder for myself and my family of what choosing love boils down to.

For this piece I started with a fresh coat of Gesso. I then used some Gel medium and several stencils I have to create some interesting textural pieces. I applied some she art journal paper and let that dry as well. I began applying some different gelattos and spraying them with water to help blend them. This was my first time working with gelattos after receiving them for Christmas. OH, I'm in love! So fun to work with blending and creating depth of color. I chose to just work with shades of orange which is a total stretch for me. Not a normal color choice for me but it was fun to step out and try something different. My first instinct was blues and purples which won't surprise those who know me, but since this was a challenge I made myself try a different palette.  After the gelattos set I added the pink burlap heart which I traced from a stencil made with my Cricut. I'm not fabulous free handing so I like a little help :) I added a little ink to define the edges, placed my stickers for the title, did a little distressing and sanding and then finished with some random stamps. I am pleased with the final results.
So how about you? Do you indulge in a little mixed media? Whether it be creating canvas', art journal pages, incorporating it into your scrapbook pages or cards...whatever your fun may be, we would love to have you link it up to our challenge at S.W.A.T. You have the full month of March to get it done and linked up. Paper Bakery is the sponsor for this month and they are awesome! I used several pieces from their August mixed media kit including the she art paper, the burlap, and their exclusive stencil that came with the kit. If you haven't seen their monthly selection of kits you need to check them out.
Lisa

Happy Birthday ideas

Coming from a family full of lots of nieces and nephews, birthdays always seem to be just around the corner. Having a bunch of ideas and inspiration for birthday cards is always a hit in my book. That is exactly what is going on at Practical Scrappers today. I made a quick and easy card using Crate Paper's Party Day collection and decided to go masculine since I have several boy birthdays coming up.

Quick, easy and not too frilly...perfect recipe for a manly card. Head over and see what the other designers had to share as well. You won't be disappointed!
Lisa