CSI Challenge - Case File #256

I joined in on a super FUN challenge over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration!  I have to admit, I've been scoping out their challenges for a little while now, and was a bit intimidated at first.  I did the over-thinking thing I so often do, too, in reading the challenges.  What tripped me up was thinking I had to recreate exact colors & images from the "Scene" of the case file. When I decided to focus on the "Evidence" and get creative it was a lot of fun!

Here's the case file:

Here's what I came up with to solve the case:

While I didn't pull any direct images from the scene, I did borrow from the color palette with touches of yellow, teal, white & black. I used mostly 6x6 papers from Amy Tangerine's Plus One line. The narrow black strips with plus signs are from her Sunshine & Good Times line.

From the Evidence file, I picked up on the white background, using an Ella & Viv wood grain background.  I decided to add some dots and wet medium with my FAVE new stencil from Art Anthology and some texture paste.  The plants provided inspiration with several different foliage dies from Paper Smooches that also helped pull in some of the color scheme.  

I picked up on the scallop clue and incorporated a loopy scallop border, as well as a scallop die cut from Fancy Pants' The Bright Side ephemera pack.  Last, I used a fun frame from the same pack as a window with some finishing touches.

The "bones" of the design is a lift of a layout from Wheeliegirl on ACOT.  For those of you who follow the ACOT message board challenges....SPOILER ALERT.....this is my July sample for my Cherry Lift challenge LOL.

Solving this case was a lot of fun, I'm glad I dove in & gave it a try!

Sketch N Scrap June 15th - sketch #155

I'm SO excited to share my first project as a member of the Sketch N Scrap Design Team!  This fabulous sketch by Heather Hall for the June 15th challenge is now up on the blog:

Here's my take on Heather's sketch:

This layout has a picture of me & my sweet dog Malcolm.  I used Echo Park's new line A Dog's Tail and for my "wonky" frame I used up some scraps from Shimelle's Go Now Go line.

The "happy" in the title is one of my favorite cut files from Lori Whitlock's SVG shop, designed by Kolette Hall.  So many fun words & phrases! 

I chose to add a fun decorative tag rather than a second picture.  The sticker sheet for EP's A Dog's Tail line has so many cute images.  Be sure to check out the sketch challenges running at Sketch N Scrap, hope you play along!

Summer Daze Crop on Facebook with Sketch N Scrap

If you follow Sketch N Scrap's blog, you should follow them on Facebook, too! There is a fun, online Summer Daze crop happening now.  I created this card with Sketch N Scrap's card sketch #100 by Lisa Hidy

I used up some older Simple Stories 6x6 papers on this, along with a couple Prima flowers, some Kaisercraft rhinestones & the wood veneer "hi" is Jillibean Soup.  Here's Lisa's fabulous sketch:

Thanks for looking!

Sketch N Scrap Design Team Member!

I'm so excited to share that I will be joining the Sketch N Scrap Design Team!  I'm really looking forward to being part of the fabulous group there, they've made me feel so welcome already. My first project for SNS is the June 15th sketch so I can't reveal it just yet.  Check back on the 15th and in the meantime, check out SNS for the current sketch challenges that are running!

May JumpStart Sketch Challenge at The ScrapRoom Blog

The ScrapRoom Blog has a fun sketch by Lisa Hidy for their JumpStart Sketch challenge this month:

Thanks to Tropical Storm (or is it a depression??) Alberto, we've had one rainy weekend so far, so I've been playing with paper!  Here's how I used Lisa's awesome sketch

I'm just smitten with the Travel Notes line by Simple Stories....the colors, the patterns, I just love it.  I used this line for pics of us white water rafting in the Upper Pigeon River in the Smoky Mountains.  I love a good cluster on my pages, and when I saw the doily at the top of the sketch, I knew what I wanted to do:

Simple Stories never disappoints with their fun bits & pieces. Along with some fussy-cut cameras, a bright #SUMMER flair from my favorite Etsy store, A Flair For Buttons, and a few other items, I had some cluster fun with this page!  Thanks for looking!

May 15th sketch at Let's Get Sketchy

Let's Get Sketchy has a really fun sketch up for their mid-month challenge.  It worked perfectly for me to test drive some new Art Anthology mists I picked up at Scrapbook Expo in Orlando a few weeks ago!  Here's the sketch:
http://letsgetsketchy.blogspot.com/
And here's what I did with it:

I used a Simple Stories Snap Basics notebook background and papers from Shimelle's Go Now Go and Photoplay's Boarding Pass line.  I love the warm colors for my zoo pics from the Bronx Zoo! The Chevron Background cut file is from Paper Issues.  I unlocked the image in Cricut Design Space and "smooshed" it (that's the technical term!) to create a more narrow chevron pattern.  The Boarding Pass 6x6 paper pad worked perfectly to add some patterned touches to the chevron background.

I can't get enough of the fun flair from my favorite Etsy shop, A Flair For Buttons!  So many adorable images to choose from.

Thanks for looking!

iNSD Challenges at A Cherry On Top

There are so many fun challenges running through the week at A Cherry On Top in celebration of International Scrapbook Day!  I'm generally a weekend-only scrapper, as I work full time Monday through Friday.  With a limited amount of time to participate in these fun challenges, I actually made it to my scraproom last night after dinner and made this for the Black & White Photo Challenge:

The challenge at ACOT is to use a photo in black & white and not be limited by the color scheme of the photo.  This photo in color would definitely not have been complemented by the papers and elements I used.  I'm so happy with how it turned out, because instead of a darker, drab "fall" layout, I was able to select papers and elements that were brighter and happier...I especially love the pops of yellow, which is a color I used to really shy away from!

I've had this background paper from PinkFresh Studios' Escape the Ordinary line for a while, waiting for just the right project. I picked out some scraps from Simple Stories and Amy Tangerine, with a strip of Fancy Pants Washi and embellished with some PinkFresh Studios Let Your Heart Decide enamel hearts.  I used a cut file from Lori Whitlock's SVG shop for the title.  Thanks for looking!