Case File #260 at CSI

Case File #260 over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration is so inspiring, I decided to take another crack at the case this month.  Here's what I came up with this time:

It's not too often these days that all of our schedules allow us to take a day to escape.....AND for the weather to cooperate, too.  Recently, we were lucky enough to be able to escape for the day & take the boat out to Matlacha.  The boys fished while I got some sun. We saw dolphin and a manatee, and docked the boat at a little restaurant for lunch.  I documented a picture from this day on my page, and will add journaling in a corresponding 6x12 pocket page with extra pictures.

Here's The Scene for CSI's Case File #260:

The word escape, the nautical elements & beautiful florals were immediately inspiring to me, and while I didn't use any nautical embellishments on my page, it inspired me to create a layout of my son and I out on our boat...."escaping" the day-to-day hustle and bustle for a little while.  From The Evidence file, I used a solid white background, floral elements, and stripes created with brush strokes of watercolor.

I used Simple Stories' Hello Summer papers and die cuts, and the circle element is a Paper Issues free cut file.  I used a gel medium and a 12x12 stencil from The Crafters Workshop for the plus signs.  The gel resisted the watercolor, allowing them to show through after I applied the brush strokes.  Thanks for looking!

August Let's Get Sketchy and CSI challenges!

The August 1st sketch challenge at Let's Get Sketchy caught my eye recently!  The sketch by Brenshevia is so cool, offering the chance to use up some scraps with all of the paper strips in the design:

I decided to use the Travel Notes line from Simple Stories and some pics from a trip my son & I took to Washington D.C. in 2015. 

The airplane was a last-minute decision to add onto this, and I totally lifted the idea from a page by one of Carta Bella's designers. I stenciled the "sky" with some tinted texture paste & a Carta Bella stencil, then added a few die cut clouds, too.

For the challenge over at CSI: Colors, Stories, Inspiration, I drew inspiration from their August 15th case, and tried to solve it:

The clues at the scene that I used were a solid white background, stripes, camera, travel-themed embellishments & an airplane.  I used more of a primary color palette, but I did pick up on the sky blue from the scheme to create my sky/airplane cluster. For the testimony, I documented a trip my son and I took together to Washington D.C.  Getting there IS half the fun!  Thanks for looking!

Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #128

Hello everyone! There's a new sketch up on the Sketch N Scrap blog today, and it is SO cute!  I decided to pull out my texture paste and a Prima doily stencil I've had for a while and have fun with it!

Here's the sketch by Lisa Hidy:

I decided to use the sketch in a square format and used a Simple Stories Snap! Basics 6x6 woodgrain background.  The patterned paper I used for the strip and tab are from my scraps.  I also used paper scraps and a Waffleflower butterfly die for the butterflies.  

I dug the flowers and leaves out of a mound of flowers I have in an old wooden tool caddy on my shelf.  I think the red popping off the woodgrain worked well.  They've been in that tool caddy for years, just waiting for the right project LOL ;) 

Thanks for looking & stopping by....and be sure to check out this challenge and the other great sketch challenges running in August at Sketch N Scrap. Hope to see you there!

Blend a Sketch Challenge at Scrap Our Stash

I've been working on a really fun challenge over at Scrap Our Stash.  It's the August Blend a Sketch challenge, and the challenge is literally to take two separate sketches and merge them into one layout:

The background of the sketch on the left immediately caught my eye, I thought it would make a great use for a busier patterned paper by breaking it up.  Love the angled look, too.  With that decision made I decided to use the photo & title placement of the sketch on the right....and add a cluster for good measure, too, of course!

The Fancy Pants On Our Way line from The Scraproom's August Flavors of the Month Kit gave me the perfect map paper & fun embellishments to use on this layout.  I also used some Simple Stories graph paper and sticker for my title, and some little fussy-cut travel sayings from Crate Papers Here + There and a Jillibean Soup tag from my stash.  The gray strip is also Jillibean Soup, from my scrap container.  One requirement for this challenge was to include arrows, so I used a die cut arrow from my kit, but also dug WAY down deep in my stash & found some old black arrow brads.  Love being able to literally use some "stash" for the Scrap Our Stash challenge!

Sketches In Thyme Challenge #336

I'm so excited to share with everyone my first assignment as a Sketches In Thyme design team member!

This week's sketch is by Brenshevia, and it just shouted "6x6 paper pad!" to me:

I picked up some My Mind's Eye Hey Mister papers and elements at Scrapbook Expo a couple months back.  I was so happy with how well the colors and designs complemented some photos I took of my son last fall.

I mixed in some odds and ends with the Hey Mister copper-rimmed brads....the Insta acrylic frame is from a Maya Road pack (awesome 1.99 Tuesday Morning find!) The arrow & "16" are Pinkfresh Studios, and of course that awesome flair is from A Flair for Buttons.  Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to play along with Sketches In Thyme!

Sketch N Scrap Slice of Summer Crop!

Sketch N Scrap has a FUN summer-themed crop going on over on Facebook...the Slice of Summer Crop!  There will be layout sketches to get you inspired to scrap your summertime (or any time) photos. If you'd like some cardmaking inspiration, there will be card sketches, too!  

https://www.facebook.com/events/1611961488933074/

The crop will be running until August 31st and if you play along, you have a chance to win a great summer-themed prize package!  Hope to see you there!

Sketch N Scrap Sketch Challenge #158

Today is August 1st and that means Sketch N Scrap has a new sketch challenge up on their blog! 

Much to my husband and son's dismay, I recently purchased a raincoat for my sweet Malcolm. To their surprise, he LOVES it....and of course, it has presented the most adorable photo opportunities!

This sketch by Lisa Hidy was SO much fun to work with! The top border strip and flower element turned into the perfect opportunity for me to create some rainclouds, and it kind of took off from there!  I chose to use one larger and two smaller square photos, which meant I had to space them a little differently.

I recently joined a fabulous kit club, The Scraproom.  Part of my July kit included the new All People All Nations Illustrated Faith line by Bella Blvd.  The navy with gray reminded me of a rainy sky, and I mixed it in with some of the brighter, more colorful papers from the same line.  I used two different alphas, both from Pinkfresh Studios, for my title.

For my "rain" I used a new Carta Bella 6x6 stencil and mixed some white texture paste with a little bit of Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink.  Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check out Sketch N Scrap to play along!