Little Red Wagon #174

Our challenge at Little Red Wagon this week is from Tammy and she wants us to use vellum on our project.  I have to admit that I rarely use vellum.  Not for any particular reason - I just don't think to pull it out and use it.  So this was a fun challenge for me!

I decided to emboss a piece of vellum and use it as my card background.  The photo really doesn't do it justice.  It is so pretty against the Kraft background!

Then I decided to use a doily as a main element, along with a couple of swirls and leaves that I cut on my Silhouette.  Some yummy ribbon, a little heart and a sweet button gave it the finishing touch!

I hope to see you over at Little Red Wagon.  I would love to see what you can do with vellum :)

Beauty In The Making

I had so much fun playing with one of  Sassy Chery's newest digis!  It is called Beauty in the Making and she was so much fun to color up!

I went really girly and used lots of pink!!  Isn't she a cutie?

This particular image comes as a set, so I also used the Dance title and the pair of shoes on my card.  I made them into tags and I used some glitter on the shoes for some extra sparkle  :)

I also used a border punch for a lacy looking border and I added a couple of butterflies - since butterflies like to dance around flowers in the summer!

Be sure to stop by Sassy Cheryl's Stamps to see this set and all her other gorgeous digi goodness!

Little Red Wagon #173

It's Wednesday already!  That means it is time for another fun challenge at Little Red Wagon!

Jan's challenge this week is Totally Teddies!  She wants us to create something that features a teddy bear.

I have recently had the honor of Cheryl, the creator of Sassy Cheryl's Digi Stamps, asking me to do some design work for her!  Needless to say, I am thrilled!  So, I decided to use her image called "Hanging out to Dry". 

I used my Copics to color up the image and then I did a bit of hand stitching on the clothes line.  I also added a bit of Glossy Accents to the clothes pins.

Last, but not least, a bit of twine, a button and a simple sentiment finished things off.

We hope you join in the fun at Little Red Wagon this week!  We would love to see your teddies ;)

Inspiration Elevator - February 2013

You may recall from last month's challenge that the purpose of this challenge group is to take our scrapbooking to the next level, to stretch our creative process and to grow as artists by embracing challenges that make us think, work and grow.

This month, our challenger was the super talented Lisa Spiegel. Lisa lives in California with her family and this month she asks us to think about our growth in 2013. This is what she wrote:

"Create a layout about your One Little Word. You know, the word that we scrappers choose in January upon which to reflect for the year. This word should have special meaning to you and be selected for its potential to help you reach and grow...the only hard part...you must use a photo of yourself and add journaling to the layout explaining the significance of the word."

This month's challenge was a bit of a challenge for me because I had already created a page about my One Little Word (check it out HERE).  I felt like I poured my whole creative heart and soul into that page, so I wasn't sure how I was going to approach a second page. 

My word for 2013 is GIFT.  I truly believe in my heart that everything good in life is a gift and I want to try to be more aware of that this year. I don't want to take anything for granted, but I want to live each day with the awareness of all the good that surrounds me and to be thankful for it.

On my first layout, I used a photo collage of some of the things in my life that I count as gifts:  family, friends, sunsets, flowers, interesting places and pretty things. So for this second layout, I decided to focus on one of these things... friends.

I used a photo of my BFF, Carolyn, and I on my original layout, so I decided to use it as a stand-alone photo for this layout.  Our friendship is truly a precious gift to me and I was excited to create a page celebrating it.

I started by creating a background for my layout using vellum and a sunburst template.  I added stitching to each strip - using different types of stitches for interest.

Then I started building layers of pattern papers.  I just went through my stash and started pulling out color coordinated papers from different manufacturers. I found a few that I thought worked together and I added them to the background. I also printed my own quote -  'a true friend is a treasure' - on some cardstock.

Then the fun part - adding all the interesting bits and pieces of things that I love!  Buttons, twine, wooden embellies, rosette ribbon, etc.  And last, but not least, my title which says it all:  GIFT!

I hope you will join the rest of our Inspiration Elevator team to see what word best reflects their plans for change and growth in 2013.  I do hope you'll pop by each of their blogs to see what they have created and perhaps take a moment to leave a comment for them.

Lisa Spiegel

Joanne Burton

Christa Uttley

Laura Whitaker

Audrey Yeager

Lisa Moen

Laurel Seabrook

Ann Jobes

Cathy Harper
 Sue Sykes

If you would like to take on this month's challenge, please do so! Just leave a link in the comment section below and I will be sure to take a look :)

Little Red Wagon #172

Wednesday is one of my favorite days!  Not only is the work week half over, but it is the day that Little Red Wagon posts a new challenge!

It was my turn to decide what the challenge would be for this week, so I thought it would be lovely if everyone created a project that had the word 'love' somewhere on it!  It is Valentine's Day tomorrow after all, and this way we can create something for this week's challenge and have something ready to give to someone special! 

I had a sweet image from Sassy Cheryl that I bought a while ago and this seemed like the perfect time to work with it.

I had lots of fun using my Copics to color up this image!  I then dug into my wagon and found the perfect mix of scraps for my card background. 

I also found a sweet little doily die-cut that was just screaming to be put on the card, along with some resin flowers that I have been hoarding for quite some time.

I used the sentiment 'i love you' to go along with the challenge at Little Red Wagon and also for Ann's challenge on the Two Scrapbook Friends Forum.  (There is an awesome on-line crop taking place that you won't want to miss!)

So, I hope to see you at Little Red Wagon and the Forum at TSF!  Have a lovely Valentine's Day!

Let's Connect On-Line Crop

Today is the start of a fun on-line crop on the Two Scrapbook Friends Forum!  The Design Team, along with Carolyn and myself, have all created challenges based on different social media sites. 

We all love to stay connected! We love to share what is going on in our lives through our emails, blogs, Facebook pages, photos, etc. We also love to be inspired by what others share with us. One of my favourite places to go for inspiration is Pinterest! Pinterest is simply a Virtual Pinboard. Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. But, best of all, you can browse pinboards that are created by other people! Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

To me, Pinterest provides visual inspiration. I can see a photo for something and be totally inspired to use something from that photo in one way or another. So that is what I have done for my challenge! I have taken a photo from Pinterest, showing a gorgeous colour combination, and I would like everyone to use it as inspiration to create a layout, card or project!

When I saw this photo, I was immediately drawn to the beautiful pink and green colours, with the hint of grey from the chair. So I used those colours on this layout.

The pink paper I used was a bit bolder that the pink in the photo, but that is the beauty of using a photo as inspiration. You can interpret it in any way that you like!

Because the photo has flowers in it, I made an accordion flower as an element on my layout.  Plus, I added a couple of decorative pins to the flower since my challenge is based on PINterest!  lol

I also decided to mimic the polka dots in the photo by creating little clusters of buttons and baubles in a couple of places on my page.

*A little bonus on my layout is the fact that my photos are from my niece's Facebook page!  I might not have seen these gorgeous photos of her playing the piano if she hadn't posted them on Facebook.  She of course gave me permission to use them. 

I hope you decide to join in the fun of our on-line crop!  Just pop over to the Two Scrapbook Friends Forum and give it a go!  The crop will run for an entire week, so you have lots of time to play along.  Plus, there will be prizes that you can win!

I can't wait to see what you create!  See you on the Forum :)

On-Line Crop Starts Tomorrow!

There are so many ways to get connected to the world of scrapbooking!

Twitter, Facebook, Email and Blogs are just a few! Two Scrapbook Friends invites you to join them and their wonderful Design Team and be inspired by all the ways we can get connected during our Online Crop in our Forum. Our Designers and the Two Friends will be issuing creative Social Media inspired challenges to thaw your Winter creativity! There will also be games to play and prizes to be won. So get yourself organized... the fun begins this Friday!

Want to know more? Here are some of the specifics!

1. Each Design Team Member and the Two Friends will post an inspiring and creative SOCIAL MEDIA based challenge with a great example in the Forum. Once you have completed each challenge, upload a photo of it to our Layout Gallery and link it back to the appropriate challenge thread in the Forum. (ALL LAYOUTS MUST BE CREATED JUST FOR THIS CROP to qualify for prizes. ) Finally, each layout will count towards only ONE challenge. Be sure to upload no later than February 18th at 11:59 pm.

2. There is a special category in the Layout Gallery for each challenge and participants MUST post a photo of their project under the correct category in the Gallery to be eligible for any prizes. Just be sure to resize the photos to less than 500 pixels (width and/or height). Its super easy but you must be registered on the Gallery before you can post. Please let TSF Joanne or DT Christa know if you need help.

3. Now for the best part! There are three prizes to be won: A) random draw for participation, B) random draw for completing all challenges, C) favorite overall winner voted on by the DT and the Two Friends.

4. In addition, the Two Friends and the DT will be choosing a favourite from her own category and that winner will be awarded 50 Forum Buttons!

The winners will be posted no later than February 20th on the Forum.

We hope you will join us and be inspired, we look forward to seeing your creations!

Little Red Wagon #171

It is a great day for a new challenge at Little Red Wagon!  Dee has challenged us to use this inspiration photo to create something fabulous!

I loved the color combination in this picture and I decided to make a card using a new technique.

I colored a grid pattern on some paper using my Copic markers and then I dripped some Colorless Blender onto it creating this awesome background!  Then I stamped an image onto it and added a sentiment. 

 

For a finishing touch, I added a some gemstones to a couple of the flowers. Thank you to Karen Dunbrook for sharing this technique on the Two Scrapbook Friends Forum! I love how it turned out!

Now we would love to see your creations based on the inspiration photo!  Just head over to Little Red Wagon and link up your project!  See you there :)

San Diego Zoo

I am still catching up on posting some layouts from last year!  In the fall I created this layout using some of Carolyn's photos from the San Diego Zoo.

I created a double-page layout and I used papers from... Fancy Pants - The Good Life! Yes, my love affair with this paper line continues!  (I am almost embarrassed to be posting yet another layout that I designed with these papers!)

I kept the design fairly simple and left lots of white space so Carolyn can add her journaling where she likes.

I used some of the chipboard elements that came with this collection and added some stitching (just for Carolyn!).

Last, but not least, I used some washi tape that I had in my stash to create these fun little strips at the bottom of the page.

Thanks for looking ~