Father's Day Blog Hop

Welcome to the Two Scrapbook Friends Father's Day Blog Hop! You should have started the hop at the Two Scrapbook Friends Blog and arrived here from Judy's blog. I am sure you have seen some amazing projects along the way and I hope you are inspired to do some creating of your own!

If you got lost along the way, here is the list of blogs you should have visited on this inspiring journey:

Two Scrapbook Friends

Carolyn

Avril

Jayne

Christa

Shelby

Jan

Sharlene

Ann

Judy
Joanne
Two Scrapbook Friends

For my project, I decided to create a layout using the Happy Travels line from Glitz Design. I love the color combination and feel of these papers and I thought with the map and airplane patterns, the title "You Mean The World To Us", would work really well. This is the perfect sentiment to use with a photo of my hubby, who truly is a great husband and father!

I had fun creating an interesting title using Alphabet Stickers from Prima. All of the different fonts come in one package (along with some words) so it is really easy to mix and match them for your titles and journaling.

I also created a canvas banner using banner pieces from Prima. I splattered some watercolor paints on them, inked them up a bit with Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo) and threaded some bakers twine through them.

Last, but not least, I created an embellishment cluster using an old ticket from my stash, a corrugated heart from Jillibean, a heart punched from one of the Happy Travels paper, word stickers from Prima and some wooden airplane shapes from Studio Calico. I simply attached the small airplanes to quilting pins and created my own decorative pins to add to my page :)

I then added some machine and hand stitching to my page for extra detail.

Now be sure to finish the Blog Hop by making a final stop at the Two Scrapbook Friends Blog. Leave a comment on the Blog Hop Post and be sure to send in the completed phrase for a second chance to win the prize!

Don't forget to:
1. Leave a comment on all the blogs as you go and then go back to the Two Scrapbook Friends blog and leave a final comment there. If you do, you will qualify to be in a draw for a special prize!
2. To have a second chance to win, keep track of the RED HIGHLIGHTED WORDS from each blog and email the phrase to 2friends@execulink.com. Put "Blog Contest" in your subject line.
3. Check back at the Two Scrapbook Friends blog on June 12th to see if you are the winner. (Winners will not be contacted personally.)

Thanks for visiting :)

Little Red Wagon #136

It's Wednesday! And it is time for another great challenge at Little Red Wagon :)

This week's challenge is definitely... a challenge! Rosanne wants us to use a playing card on our project. Hmmm... I did not have any ideas for this challenge until my BFF suggested I try to see if Silhouette had anything I could use. Sure enough - there were these great shapes for playing card suits!

I cut them out using my Silhouette (only the second time I have used it!) and I created my own playing cards.

I used papers from Authentique and did a bit of stitching, and I have to say, despite the challenge, I am really happy with how it turned out.

So, show us what you can do with a playing card theme! Pop over to Little Red Wagon and play along - we would love to see what you create :)

My Summer List

Summer is so very short and it is my absolute favorite season. With that in mind, I have decided to join Ali Edwards in creating a list of the things I want to do this summer.

I didn't write a long, complicated list, but rather a small wish list of simple things that will allow me to embrace the essence of summer.

• eat lots of yummy salads
• go to a Blue Jays baseball game
• attend at least one of the two family reunions I have been invited to
• enjoy the outdoors EVERY day
• go to the Farmers Market more than once
• make refrigerator pickles
• ride my bike as much as possible
• take Sunday drives in the country
• watch the sunset on the water
• count and record my blessings
• have a weekly date night with Mr B
• go on a picnic
• watch fireworks
• swing on the swings at the playground
• make lots of fruit smoothies
• pick wildflower bouquets
  
• collect pretty stones at the beach
• eat on the patio as often as possible
• take lots of pictures
  
• make shapes out of the clouds
• wear sandals every day
  

Summer - when the sand is your seat and the waves kiss your feet and all is right with the world! I am ready :)

Little Red Wagon #135

Regan posted the challenge at Little Red Wagon this week and she wants to see us using a wood grain on our project.

I started with this fabulous blue wood grain pattern paper from MME and then paired it up with a sweet little image that I stamped with a Whipper Snapper stamp. I colored it with my Copic markers and used my Nestabilities die to cut the scalloped circle.

The best part is that I added the little chick to my card using a Wobble spring, so it really shakes and moves when you touch it! I will be giving this to my friend Sue, who is celebrating her 50th birthday this Friday! I will be joining her and a bunch of friends for a Girls Night Out - where we will be shaking and moving to some good music :)

Now shake it and move it over to Little Red Wagon to join in the challenge! We would love to see what you create with wood grain!

Washington, DC

Mr B and I just returned from a fabulous trip to Washington, DC and Virginia Beach. It was a much needed break for both of us and we had a great time.

I have always wanted to see the U.S. capitol and I was not disappointed in the least! In fact I was very impressed with how clean, safe and beautiful the entire area was. We actually stayed in Arlinton, VA, right across the river from Washington, so we took the subway in each day to the capitol area. From there we walked at least 10 miles a day as we toured the area! We also did a double-decker bus tour and we sat on the open upper level. It was a great way to see everything and to hear the history of area.

Here are just a few of the photos that we took in Washington.

:: Pennsylvania Avenue ::

:: the Capitol Building ::

:: North Lawn of the White House ::

:: South Lawn of the White House ::

:: Secret Service near the White House ::

:: Lincoln Memorial ::

:: Washington Monument ::

:: Jefferson Memorial ::

:: Supreme Court Building ::

:: looking up from the steps of the Supreme Court Building ::

:: the view from the steps of the Supreme Court Building ::

:: resting at the fountain at the Supreme Court Building ::

:: Arlington National Cemetery ::

:: a beautiful, peaceful and emotional place ::

:: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ::

:: Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ::

:: on the top of the double-decker bus with my handsome tour guide ::

:: Library of Congress ::

:: Federal Reserve Building ::

:: Federal Triangle ::

Despite our aching feet at the end of each day, we totally enjoyed our tour of the capitol. Our trip also included a number of Smithsonian Museums, the Zoo, the National Cathedral and some fabulous restaurants! I will be posting more photos in the next few days :)

Canadian Scrapbooker Summer 2012

Our copies of Canadian Scrapbooker Summer 2012 arrived at the store yesterday and it was a very exciting day! My layout, I ♥ Books, was published in this issue and it was awesome to see it in print!

The other awesome thing is that my BFF (Carolyn) has a layout published in the same issue! The Two Scrapbook Friends in the same magazine at the same time! Very cool :)

Plus, my other scrappy friend, Christa Uttley, has a layout on the facing page of mine, and two other scrappy friends, Sharlene Nye-Petrone and Laura Whitaker, are also in this issue! Congrats to everyone on making it into this great publication. It is wonderful to share the excitement with all of you!

Little Red Wagon #134

It's Wednesday and time for another fun challenge at Little Red Wagon! Judy has challenged us to make a Father's Day card - simple and to the point!

As I just returned from vacation a couple of days ago, I am a bit behind in my scrapbooking/card making. So for this week's challenge I decided to go with a CAS card. I was inspired by a card that I saw on Pinterest and this is my version :)

I simply printed a tie template onto three different pattern papers and cut them out. Then I printed a sentiment onto cardstock using my computer, added the three ties, that I popped up with foam adhesive, and then layered it onto some brown and grey cardstock.

That is about as simple as it gets, but I think it is perfect for a Father's Day card :)

Be sure to pop over to Little Red Wagon to join in the fun! We would love to see your creation!

Little Red Wagon #133

It's time for another fun challenge at Little Red Wagon!

Most of us purchase patterned paper for our cards or layouts. But our challenge this week is to create our own patterned paper for our project.

I decided to use some Washi Tape to create my card background. (Yes... I am totally addicted to Washi Tape!)

I just alternated strips of two different tapes and it created the perfect background for my little boy card!

The die-cuts are from Imaginisce.

Why not get creative and join in the challenge this week? We would love to have you join us!

Inspiration Elevator May 2012

Welcome to Inspiration Elevator!


IE is a group of like minded scrappy friends who want to raise the bar in their own creative process through unique challenges that we issue to each other once a month. These won't be run of the mill challenges and we hope you will join us each month and be inspired by the innovative designs we create.

This is not a blog hop, and there are no prizes, but we would love it if you would take a few minutes to see what the rest of the Inspiration Elevator team created. We are sure you will feel inspired to get creative:

Ann

Audrey

Carolyn

Cathy

Christa

Joanne

Laura

Laurel

Lisa M

Lisa S

Sue

The first challenge, issued by Christa, is two-fold: to create a new design that reflects your style, and to use a new product or technique that you find inspiring right now.

There are so many awesome products and techniques in the scrapbooking world, but my current love is Washi Tape. All the different colors and patterns just make my heart happy and I look for any excuse to use them! So, of course, I had to use Washi Tape on my layout for this challenge.

I also included some of my favorite techniques: paint splatters, accordion flowers, spool butterflies, and stitching.

In addition, I created an altered border behind my background paper. I simply added bits and pieces of patterned paper in a few places around the edge of the paper. I am happy with how it adds just an extra bit of interest to the whole design :)

My overall design is uncluttered with a bit of white space. I also like working with a single photo that can be the focus of my page.

Thanks for looking and do visit the blogs of the rest of the team. You are sure to be inspired!