Spring blossoms ~Stuck on U Sketches~ June 21 sketch

Its sketch reveal day at SOUS! Its hard to believe its almost the end of June! Were I live, school is almost over and the grade 12's graduate on the 25th! Summer is "officially" here! I still had spring on my mind with this layout. I took this photo of a ornamental crab apple tree we have out in front of our house. The blossoms were soo pretty and smelled SO good! I thought it would be good to scrap about it!

I had a really hard time with this layout. It didn't help that I had my dates wrong and I thought I had one more week to work on it, so I was really pressed for time. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but to bring it into action was seemingly a very different story! I had tried 3 other background before I got this to work for me. Yikes! lol

 Here is the sketch designed by our own Sandi Clarkson! I really was looking forward to doing this sketch! White space is always a challenge for me and I that this sketch was brilliant! Unfortunately I didn't execute it the way I saw it in my brain!

 Here is a close up of the first flower cluster. I hand made all the flowers on this layout. for These I believe it was a Cheery Lynn Designs die that I used and I inked them with Picked Raspberries distress ink, spritzed them down with water and crinkled them up. Once they were dry I opened them up, thread the stamen thru the centers and glued it all in place. I then hit them all with a bit of gesso. I also used some Dusty Attic stems/leaves that I first painted with gesso and then with Peeled Paint distress ink, used my heat gun to quickly dry them and touched them with gesso.

 Here you can see a closer view of the stenciling I did with Prima's Static stencil and some light moulding paste that I turned pink by adding some Black Cherry Glimmermist. These flowers were cut with a die from Memory Box.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please stop by SOUS to see the other designers work. I would like to encourage you to try this awesome sketch, and then link it up to the SOUS blog so that we can leave you some love, and also, your layout could be chosen to be in our Top 3!

Be Blessed!

She Dreams of Butterflies ~MY CREATIVE SKETCHES June sketch~

Its time to reveal the June sketch Challenge at My Creative Sketches! This months sketch looked like so much fun and I had a blast putting it together! I used Pink Paislee's butterfly garden. I recently got this photo of one of my great nieces, Nila, sleeping in the grass while her parents where busy planting part of their Market Garden. I guess Nila got tired of waiting for them to finished and plumped down in the grass for a      nap!

here is my lo, 

 here is the sketch....told you it was a fun one, and was designed by My Creative Sketches!

I did lots of distressing, masking, misting, fussy cutting, some stitching, edge inking some paint/spray splattering. I used gesso to further alter the flowers and edges of papers and the Dusty Attic pieces that I had painted with Peeled Paint Distress Paint. I got my hand nice and dirty....just the way I like it!

Hope you enjoyed the close ups,  I would love it if you would give this sketch a try! If you do, make sure you link it back to My Creative Sketches, so that we can leave you some love, and so that your name can go into the random draw for the amazing prize Pam always gives away! Woo Hoo! love her prizes!

Thanks so much for stopping by, please leave some love and a comment, it always makes my day! You are all so special to me!

Be Blessed

This is Me ~Stuck on U Sketches!~

Welcome to reveal Friday at Stuck on U Sketches! This week we had a unique sketch to work with! By unique I mean different and wonderful! It definitely made you think "outside the box" and challenged your creativity in a very positive way!

I felt it was time to do a layout all about me! This year has been a year of change for me, all in a positive way. I am starting to get older, and with having some health issues and alot of weight gain over the years due to medication, and I guess just plain ole' indifference I finally realized it was time to make some serious changes! So to make a long story short, as of today there is 37 lbs less of me to love! I have a ways to go yet, but am happy with my success!

Anyways, I took some "self portraits" over the last months trying to get a good photo of me and these were the best!  I used Kaiser Craft's Needle & Thread paper collection. I love the vintage feel it has [kind of like myself! lol]

 Here is the gorgeous sketch that Sandi Clarkson designed for us. I loved it the moment I saw it! She does a lot of amazing work! Check out her blog!

 Here is a close up of the main embellishment cluster. I used a few I am Roses flowers that I either inked and then whitewashed with gesso, or just whitewashed. I did some fussy cutting of some flowers and the bow and spool of thread and scissors are part of the collection.

 Here is a close up of the top photo. I used a doily die [french pastry] from Cheery Lynn Designs, and the bird is a metal bird I got from Michaels that was originally black. I just gave it a few coats of gesso. 

 In this photo  is a butterfly I made with a Memory Box die that I inked with a Prima pink chalk ink and brushed a bit of gesso onto it. The cute little pink buttons I bought at our local Thrift Store.

 Some more I am Roses flowers and some buttons and a Prima lightbulb.

 Here is a close look at some of the stenciling I did with 2 Prima masks, Crackles and Static... love them both! I used Light Moulding Paste, and in the center part of the layout I also used some pink and yellow Glimmer Mist.  I also gave the whole layout [not photos] a white wash of gesso, just to soften it up some more

 I did some faux stitching around the edges of the pages and the distressed layers, with a black pen.

 Finally we get to the title. Can I be that age already? Didn't I just turn 18? Time flies,  doesn't it! The "This is ME" is actually a Kaiser Craft rub on that I rubbed on to a transparency. For some reason I never have luck with these, especially right on the layout itself! Don't know what I am doing wrong! So I did it this way and then just cut it out and adhered it with vellum tape.

Now, I am positive that you all will want to give this sketch a try! Please go to the SOUS blog and see all the gorgeous layouts the girls came up with! You are SURE to be inspired! Please link your projects us to the blog so we can leave some love and for a chance to be in the top 3! We love featuring your work too!

Be Blessed!

Ballerina Girls ~Stuck on U Sketches~

Welcome sketch lovers! Welcome Stuck on U Sketches lovers! Welcome everyone! Got a great simple layout to share with you today, featuring sisters Cassidy and Lucia! Love my sweet great nieces! They are as adorable as they look!

I used a combination of Bo Bunny papers Prairie Chic and Kaiser Kraft Base Coat. I liked the white brick background paper as it mimicked the brick background in some of the photos.  I added some Dusty Attic brick pieces that I painted white with gesso and used a chunky texture paste with a bit of Weathered Wood distress ink on top.

 Here is the simple yet versatile sketch designed by our Leah Schaeffer! Check out her blog! 

here is a close up of the flower cluster, featuring some Prima blooms, and some I am Roses blooms and some Dusty Attic ferns. I added some cheese cloth strands tucked in around the flowers.

 Here you can see more of the texture I added to the bricks,  and some Viva Decor Pearl Pen randomly placed on the pink floral paper.

 I used a Prima mask and some light molding paste. I love my masks! The title is made with some Prima alphas. Love the little butterflies perched on the paper....I used a Martha Stewart punch for those. I added some doodling around the edges of the layered papers, and the photos. I thought it helped ground them with the added touches of black.

 I used a Martha Stewart punch around the page punch in a distressed fashion around the edges of the brick background paper, and bent the edges up.

 another close up of my 2 cuties!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please go to the Stuck on U Sketches blog so you can be inspired by the other designers, and please take part in this sketch challenge! Link up your layout to the SOUS blog and you could have your work chosen for one of the top 3! Woo Hoo!  Have a blessed weekend!

US ~My Creative Sketches - May Sketch Challenge!

I can't believe its time to reveal the May Sketch already! Winter dragged on for so long, and spring seems to be whizzing by! This months sketch at My Creative Sketches is awesome.....especially if you love banners! I was slow to love them, but I really enjoy how they look on my layouts, so I am converted!

My daughter and I spent a weekend together in Grand Forks, ND,[ NO BOYS] and had a blast shopping, eating and just rebonding! Things are a little different when your babies get married! I took these photos at the end of our shopping trip with my Iphone. I was surprised how well they turned out! This was just before we went into Michaels. [ just had to get a few scrappy goodies!]  I used a few new techniques I had seen on some layouts and figured I try them out. One is to use pieces of paper as a template and ink the edges while the paper is in the spot you want it. The result is a shadow of the paper layers, creating the effect of actual paper layers.

Here is the amazing sketch by Michelle Fowler!

Here you can see the beautiful banner I created with Bo Bunny's paper line" C' Est la vie"! I made them in 2 different sizes and layered them.  I added a row of  Pearl beads made with Viva Decor Pearl pen in cream.  To make the circle, I drew it on the paper first and then cut out parts of it [some parts are still attached, you just can't see them as they are covered with the photos] I distressed these edges and inked them with a purple distress ink.

I bought a cool new product at Michaels, which was a mixed media product that is a gel with gel beads in it. I used a Prima mask with little circles and applies this in random places.  This is so totally cool! When it dried, it dried clear and you can see the beads, AND, it changed the color of the paper under neath each spot! What a totally cool effect!  I think it really adds interest and detail to the layout!  You gotta try this stuff! I don't often add journalling, but in this case, how could I not?

I used some Prima flowers, and some Dusty Attic chippies. The white chippie pieces are parts of another piece I used on a layout called "Winter in Vienna - Vegas Style".  I added some micro beads to the hearts on the  DA piece and the rest of it is painted with with gesso and I used  Rangers Rock Candy Distress Paint over top.  When that dried I then rubbed in a bit of brown chalk ink. The leaves are DA as well and they were inked with Distress Stain and covered with the same Rock Candy Distress paint.

Just a close up of the title and a chippie sticker that comes with the Bo Bunny line I used. I hope you enjoyed some of the new techniques I used. I also hope you will be inspired to try out this sketch! You won't be disappointing! Now, head on over to My Creative Sketches blog so you can see what the other amazing designers have come up with! We are a diverse group of ladies with unique styles and we are sure NOT to dissappoint!  Please link your creation back to the blog so you have a chance to win the amazing prize that Pam is so famous for! We also showcase 3 layouts that we find particularly worthy of being showcased!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and please do come back again! It means so much to me when you do! Your comments make my day and keep me wanting to create for you!

Blessings! 

Dream ~Stuck on U Sketches~

Hello Stuck on U Sketches followers! Welcome everyone scrappy! It is sketch reveal Friday, a good day to celebrate! Today my hubby and I are celebrating our 27th wedding Anniversary! It seems like yesterday, yet it also seems like its been forever!....and I don't mean that in a negative way, lol!

Today we have a really cute sketch designed by Leah Schaeffer. It has some great lines and I wanted to stay true to the sketch and keep it simple, well, as simple as I can do!  This layout is featuring my cousin's darling daughter, Madelyn. I love this photo [I did not take it] and how she is so care free and twirling around, of course, with a tiara on!

The paper line is called Prairie Chic, by Bo Bunny, and this girl is definitely a prairie chic! This is a fun line to work with!

Here is the cute sketch designed by Leah! Make sure you check out her blog!

Here is a close up of the main cluster of goodies! The flowers are all from I am Roses, and I hit them all with a touch of gesso. The resin bridge, lightbulb and tiny bling flourishes are by Prima!

Again, goodies from I am Roses and Prima....see the cute little wooden bird? Prima!

I used a Prima mask in a few places, but most noticeable is here in the top right hand corner.  I think it fills that corner nicely with out being over stated.  I used my sewing machine to do some stitching that really frames the whole layout nicely. To incorporate  the 3 diagonal lines Leah used on her sketch I decided to make paper ruffles with a Martha Stewart border punch. I used some real lace at the top with a string of pearl beads to finish it off.

Just a close up of the title. The small print is actually a Kaisercraft rubon gone wrong, so I distressed the rest of the letters to make it match! Instant shabby chic!

In this photo you can see the distressed punched edge of the pink background paper.  I love this little trick I learned from Shona Keehn! You just slide your punch along the edge and punch! No lining up... just go for it and make the edges ragged!

Well, thats it for me today! Please stop by the SOUS blog and check out the other designers creations, and be prepared to be inspired!  When you try the sketch make sure you link it up to the blog so we all can see and leave you some lovin', and you just could be one of our top 3!

Be Blessed!