Tailor Made card

Hello all!  I decided to make a card today. There were a couple challenges I wanted to complete so this is the result. :)  The challenges I wanted to do were Enfy's August "girly card" challenge over at Going Buggy.  I used the card sketch challenge over at Stuck On U Sketches!

I used MME Lush papers, Cosmo Cricket mini alphas, French Manor for the dress form, seam binding ribbon dyed with Antique Linen Distress Stain, a blue ribbon, some pearls, a Tim Holtz embossing folder, and Billionaire for the welded words "tailor made". The card is 5x7, as I wanted plenty of room for everything.

I left the inside blank so it could be used for anything; a romantic card or a card for a best friend. :)

Thanks for looking!

Done challenges!!!

I cropped with my peeps on Saturday! and oh-my-goodness, I did a bunch of challenges!

I wanted to use some inspiration to get me going, so I hit up a few websites for sketches and challenges, and that's mostly what I worked on all day!  The first one I have above is the Stuck On U Sketches blog sketch challenge found here. I had the Echo Park mini theme and used that for several pages including this one.

This layout was completed for the Sketch N Scrap sketch challenge found here.  Again, used the EP mini theme papers. But for this one, I had some white seam binding ribbon, and I wanted it to be navy instead. I didn't have navy ink or even navy mist. I had two blues that were more shades of cobalt, and a charcoal color mist.  So I scrunched the seam binding ribbon into a zip baggie, dampened it with water from my mini mister, then misted it with the two blues and the charcoal mist. That was sufficient to make my own "navy" colored ribbon, that actually looks a little like it's been tie-dyed. Pretty neat.

Here's the last layout I did for a challenge, and also the last layout I did with the EP mini theme. I used up some of the remaining ribbon that I misted as well. This was inspired by the My Creative Sketches blog sketch challenge found here. The little arrow is pointing at a beaver we saw swimming, and rather than put a big picture with a tiny tiny subject on the layout, I decided to use the beaver picture as an embellishment instead. :)

My last challenge project is for Stuck on U Sketches all new card sketch challenge found here! I used a kraft cardstock base and stamped it with a Hero Arts stamp I've never used before. Then I threw some scraps on there. ha! the center element is a chalkboard sticker from American Crafts. My chalk writing stinks. I wish I could have written that better. lol

THANKS! for stopping by. :)

Lemon Love

Stuck On You Sketches has a die cut challenge that started on July 13. I got to crop with my scrappy ninjas on the 14th at the Relay for Life crop, and I made this layout, inspired by the challenge. I kind of scrap-lifted myself for it, as it is made with a few leftovers from making a kit (see below). I had the scalloped background and the tags left over, both cut on my cricut. The tags are from the Sophisticated cartridge, and were the closest I could find in shape (on the cricut) to actual shipping tags. I hadn't planned on using these leftovers, but the challenge and not wanting to waste anything... well I went ahead. :)  I made the mistake of leaving this layout in one of my boxes in the car, and the heat kind of curled the plastic lemon embies... but I like the look!

THIS layout is one I made for a kit for a couple of my friends who like me to design for them. I was inspired by a Cricut Circle layout by one of the designers, Jana Eubank. Hers was a one-page layout.

Ostara 2011

Stuck On U Sketches has a great sketch this week, check it out! I love sketches, they really inspire me!

The papers and embellishments for this page are from a Cocoa Daisy kit, including the birds on a wire stamp.  I love that stamp! I hope I can come up with other uses for it! The background shape is from a cricut cartridge but I have no idea which one! sorry. :)

Thanks for stopping by. :)

Always Together

I'm back to doing challenges again, yay! Stuck On You Sketches has a die cut challenge that started friday for using a "flag". I used little flags on pics on this layout. Plus a lot of other die cuts! The cartridges I used on this layout are: Sophie, Ribbons and Rosettes, Plantin, Party Picks and Pennants, Holiday Cakes, Art Philosophy, and Base Camp. I believe I also used the Sizzix Tim Holtz rosette die.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Good Life {kit}

Greetings all!

I have been creating kits to sell to a few local scrappers, which helps use up my stash and make a few bucks to help with our budget. I like using sketches to inspire my work! Check out this week's sketch over at Stuck On U Sketches!

Peace!
Michele

Fall minibook swap!

I participated in my first mini book swap this fall organized by Stuck On You Sketches blog. The theme was Fall which is what attracted me to the swap, as I adore fall colors!  For this book I used We R Memory Keepers Maple Grove line, just their printed papers and coordinating cardstock.

For embellishments, I used various ribbons, leaves, stamps and buttons. I also sewed on every page! One of the pages is acrylic, so I stamped on the page with Tim Holtz' new leaf stamp set, which I love love love.

But my most favorite embellishments throughout this book are the handmade buttons from Charlene's Button Box. Charlene is local to this area, her buttons are available at the scrapbook store I work at, Scrapaganza or on Charlene's etsy shop. She is a stellar button maker and I was thrilled with her fall buttons, they worked so well with this book! See detail below:

Her buttons really add something special to any project.

Charlene first began selling her buttons last year in the fall, and the "Family" button on the last page here is from one of the first batches of buttons we could buy.

And that's all there is! Thanks for stopping by to look, and thanks to my swap partner for being so patient waiting for this book!

SOUS and TSM - Drive

Sometimes lyrics from a song tell the story more than anything I could write myself.

The day I'd made the decision that I wanted to quit my full time job to be home with my son more and to take a part time job at the scrapbook store, the song "Drive" by Incubus played on the radio. I already had liked that song very much but listening to the song lyrics that day really struck a chord (yep, a pun!) with me and I decided I wanted to incorporate it somehow into the page I wanted to make. I did not use all the lyrics straight from the song. Here's what my journaling says:

Fear kept me in a job I hated
I wanted to be home with my son

(lifted lyrics)
Sometimes I feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear
and I can't help but ask myself how much I let the fear
take the wheel and steer
It's driven me before
and it seems to be the way that everyone gets around
but lately I'm beginning to find that I
should be the one behind the wheel
So if I decide to waiver my chance to be one of the hive
will I choose water over wine
and hold my own and drive?

Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there
with open arms and open eyes

Hold the wheel and DRIVE

This layout was made using the sketch at Stuck On You Sketches and papers from The Story Matters July kit:

I used George to cut a square frame but set aside the square frame and used the negative as a mask for glimmermisting with Red Velvet glimmermist. Also used George to cut the circle frame from the red dot paper, and the circle mat from ledger paper. Used Bazzill circle stitching template so I could stitch a circle in there, and fussy cut some flowers from red flocked paper from MME Lush line.  The title is cut from double sided sheet of adhesive paper by Terrifically Tacky Tape from Provo Craft, using Ashlyn's Alphabet I think... Then glittered with Martha Stewart glitter.  I almost always write my own journaling but this time it seemed right to type it out, but I used a neat font that I downloaded called Old Stamper. I love that font!

Thank you for looking!

May Day - The Story Matters Kit & SOUS!

Happy Friday all!
One of my favorite challenge blogs turned into a Kit Club in February. The Story Matters is now the name of Scrapaganza's mail order subscription kit club. They are gearing up for their official Grand Opening launch of their website in May, but since February they have been selling subscriptions to their introductory kits. I missed out on the first kit, they sold out in 10 days!  So I am signed up now, and got my first kit last week. Finally I was able to dig into it for my first layout. The only thing in this layout not from the kit is my journaling paper, the burlap flower, and the scrap I used to cut my title.  Here's the peek of the kit!

The nice thing about these kits (and I haven't tried other kits yet so I don't know if this is standard), is that they break up packs of things so I don't have to buy whole packs which never get completely used up, and then sit in my stash forever, getting old and staying unused... Here I get to sample a bunch of things and I will use up the whole kit and not be stuck with a big pack of ephemera cards I won't use up... Also, Scrapaganza has Charlene the Button Diva making exclusive buttons just for these kits. I adore Charlene's buttons, I used the red flower one on this layout. They also have a few people shopping for vintage ephemera and other vintage items to make these kits unique. I love vintage stuff on my layouts. I can't wait to use the milk bottle cap that came with this kit.

I used the sketch at Stuck On You Sketches to get my inspiration. SOUS is also one of my top fav challenge blogs, mainly because I LOVE LOVE LOVE the work those ladies do over there. Go check them out!

Here's a close up of the burlap flower.

I was at the store, looking through the accucut dies and found a flower die. I know cricuts can cut fabric but I am lazy, I didn't feel like figuring out if it can cut burlap. So I ran some burlap through the accucut. :) I spritzed the bottom flower layer with glimmermist in a color that went well with the flower button.

The leaves were cut on my cricut using Lyrical Letters. The rest of my cuts were from Songbird: the title (welded on my gypsy) and the two top layers of patterned paper. The scalloped yellow cardstock was part of the kit.

I can hardly wait to use up the rest of the kit!

And hey, if you subscribe, there are prizes to be had (if they aren't sold out of March already!). Mention that Michele sent you and I might get a prize too!  It's only $25 to subscribe for the monthly kit, and you can opt out of a kit if you don't like the sneak peek!

Thanks and a layout

First, I want to say a big THANK YOU to Sheila and Cindy! You both are so sweet! And so creative!!! Dang, I just went to your blogs and wow! some amazing work that I need to come back and study closer!  This weekend I will get that award up and do my assignment, I promise. :)

I've been so busy! I've been taking classes and teaching classes at my local store, Scrapaganza. Doing some commission work and trying to balance all that with spending time with the family. 3 year olds are amazingly wonderful and exhausting. I have so much fun with my son that I don't want to waste my opportunities to be with him. I've walked away from my scrap table a few times this week when he asked me to. (and the computer is at my table so that meant very little computer time too!)

However, I did get this layout done this past weekend! This is for my local store's blog challenge coming up in March but I'm posting a few days early (shhhh) because I used the sketch over at Stuck on You Sketches. :) I also used one of my new ironwork files (see post below) for the circle border. The picture is from my husband's and my wedding. Our wedding was themed, since we both enjoy renaissance faires and such, and back then I was very involved in belly dancing, so we combined a lot of our favorite things into our wedding, and for me one of them was to have full "Bridal" henna applied to hands, arms, legs and feet! So you can see my hand has henna decorations on it. Here are the details of the layout:

Kaiser printed paper - Sakura Park "Ukon"
Making Memories - Vintage Pearl Love Notes
Reminisce - black glitter paper
Cardstock - French Vanilla
Vellum - silver
Pearl bling
Perfect Pearls "Forever Red" and "Green Patina"

I used several Cricut cartridges:
Home Accents - part of the round border
Don Juan - part of the round border
Mother's Day 2010 - 6 petal flower, vine, title frame
Gypsy Font - hearts for butterfly and hearts
Gypsy Wanderings - title

The background fleur-de-lis circle border was created on my Gypsy with Home Accents and Don Juan, if you have the gypsy or Design Studio, you can download this cut file (see post below) to your own machine if you have the cartridges. The butterflies were also created on my Gypsy with Gypsy font by welding several ornate hearts together with an oval.
The roses were made by cutting out a 6 petaled flower 3 times and following the instructions from Tim Holtz' blog. I used Perfect Pearls and Perfect Medium and a water pen to color the petals and the vellum vine.

Thanks for looking! and thank you to everyone who has left comments, I really appreciate it!