Hey There, Cupcake! {A Delicious, Dreamy Palette at CCG}

Challenge 181 just went live at Color Combos Galore, and we're rounding out our month-long theme of sweets with an especially delicious palette!

Check out those fancy-schmancy names I came up with for the colors! :) What's a furbelow, you ask?

1. a ruffle or flounce, as on a woman's skirt or petticoat.

2. any bit of showy trimming or finery.

Here's the page I made with this beautiful palette. I dug out some really old Li'l Davis polka dot paper and combined it with a bunch of different Webster's Pages papers and a fun textured paper. The filigree cupcake liners immediately made me think of doilies.

Here are some detail photos. The butterfly, journaling spot and paper lanterns are cut from various Webster's Pages papers. The Eau de Toilette piece came from a Design Originals book of ephemera cut-outs that I bought years and years aog. And remember when Making Memories made those washers with the words and the K&Company came out with sticker versions of those? Yeah, I bought them, and there they've sat in my stash for eons. But lately, I've been trying to use some of my older stash and this sticker was the perfect color, so I went for it. I think mounting it on a punched circle, adding a jeweled brad, and tucking it into other layers updated its look a bit! Oh, and that gate sticker? It's by Mrs. Grossmans. Gasp! I almost got rid of that a couple of years ago when I was purging stuff from my stash. So happy I kept it!

The yellow and green flowers are cut from Webster's Bloomers and American Crafts ribbon trim. I nestled some jeweled brads in the centers to hold them in place. The wispy blue flower is from Michael's Recollection brand. I tucked in a little burgundy flower, as inspired by that some of the flowers on the cupcakes and also to balance the bit of burgundy on the umbrella.

This lovely silhouette was cut out of a Webster's Pages Hollywood Vogue paper. I put her on pop dots and added some pearls to the flowers on her hat. Isn't that yellow paper cool? I've had it for ages. Not sure where I picked it up, but it's by The Paper Company. The embossed word stickers are also pretty old and are by K&Company. I love adding word stickers--they add that little something to the story, and my layouts always feel naked without them.

The resin photo corner is by Melisa Frances. So pretty and detailed!

The umbrella is also from a Webster's Pages paper. I added black Ranger's Enamel Accents over the black dots that were printed on the umbrella to add some texture to this cut-out.

The design team did some amazing work with this palette--go over and take a peek. And I hope you'll play along. This is the last week to post a project in our Gallery to qualify for a cool prize provided by our sponsor, Unity Stamp Company. Plus, you might just wind up as our Gallery Fave or become a Featured Member for a future challenge!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and looking at my layout!



Love Is In the Air {at HMITM}

I meant to post this last Monday, on Valentine's Day, but the week ran away from me. Our current challenge at How Much Is Too Much is called "Love Is in the Air," and it's a fun one! Here's the clever challenge Debbie Fitzgerald posed:

• Create a layout about someone (or something) you love.
• Use 2 photos and 14 hearts.
• The colors of the layouts should be predominantly red and brown. (think about those boxes of chocolate!)
• Use an arrow somewhere on your page (think Cupid!)
• Incorporate a flower or two on your page (like those expensive rose bouquets)
• Use ribbon or frills (Did you know that ribbons were given to knights by their beloveds before they went off to battle?)

You still have a full week to play. And in case you didn't know, for 2011, we've added a little twist to our challenge: We will choose a player each month to be our guest designer for a future month. So fun!

Here's the page I made. I dug out some old BasicGrey (Sugared and Infuse) to make my page. The most challenging part for me was the 14 hearts, but I finally figured out how to incorporate all of them into my design. And when I first read that we had to use red and brown as our main colors, I didn't think I'd like it, but I really love the way the colors look with the black and white photos. I added private journaling on the back of my layout. Farzad and I have been together for 30 Valentine's Days. We'll be celebrating our 30th anniversary this July!

A few close-ups. The pretty brad is by Making Memories, and the tan chipboard hearts are Maya Road.

I originally didn't have those striped strips of paper beside the photos, but I was stumped about how to include more hearts, so this did the trick. I trimmed a few from the paper, inked the edges and scattered them around my page to make up the required number of hearts. I snuck a little BasicGrey glazed brad that had hearts on the side to count for one of my 14 heart elements.

The sparkly chipboard heart is Making Memories, and that brad is really old--by SEI.

For my arrow, I used an old 7 Gypsies photo turn, topped with a pearl brad.

Come by HMITM and see what the rest of the team did with this challenge. So fun to see everyone's different interpretations of the same challenge! I hope you'll play along, too! Thank you for visiting my blog and reading about my page!

Inspiration Is Everywhere! {CP4U #53}

We have a brand-new challenge up at Creative Prompts for You, and it's a fun one. Here was our prompt:

My first thought was to use different letter styles for a title, but as I looked at this print, it was the message that spoke to me, and I knew just what I wanted to make. I started an album a while back called "Pursuit of Scrappiness" where I'm documenting bits and pieces of my scrappy life. I decided I'd make a page to chronicle my stint at CP4U. The little photographs of all those different letters made me think of using pictures of my fellow design team members, so I snagged their avatars off of their blogs, and the title is obviously taken from the inspiration piece because "inspiration is everywhere" is what CP4U is all about! Here's my page. I used Studio Calico's Continental kit to make my layout. Patterned papers are My Mind's Eye (ledger) and The Girls' Paperie (polka dots).

I decided a travel theme would be perfect for this page because inspiration can take me anywhere. Love the little die-cut car that came in the kit by Making Memories. The stickpin clippy thing is by Tim Holtz, and the postage stamp that says "The Story" is The Girls' Paperie. The pointing hand stamp is by Purple Onion Designs, and indictes that I have journaling on the back of my page.

My hidden journaling reads: Inspiration IS everywhere, and I get to live that motto several times a month as a design team member at Creative Prompts for You. I remember Faye Morrow Bell's column in Creating Keepsakes was one of my favorites, where she'd take an object and create layouts and projects inspired by that object--might be a detail or a color scheme or the theme. We get to do the same thing at CP4U. It's such a thrill to see what I can make, and my result is always surprising and unexpected--layouts that I never would've thought up on my own. And so fun to see how my teammates interpret it so differently. Inspiration for this challenge has come from so many varied and interesting sources: bags hanging on a wall, book quotes, fashion models on a runway, bare frames hanging on a wall, a quilt, album covers, advertisements, and wedding cakes, to name a few. Inspiration IS everywhere, and I look at everything through a scrapbooker's eyes.

The CP4U Team, pictured from top to bottom: Allison Cope, Nicole Nowosad, Kaori Fujimoto, Wendy Kwok, Solange Marques, Ro Philippsen, Fabiola Rosa, Me, Regiane Thahira, Sue Sykes

I thought the numbers would be a fun accent to signify the numerous sources of inspiration. They're cut from a Making Memories paper.

The title letters I used are Heidi Swapp (chipboard) and Webster's Pages (stickers). I love those metal stud stickers by BasicGrey.

The tag and compass accents are by The Girls' Paperie, and I tucked in a little Jenni Bowlin ticket. The kraft word stickers are oldies from my stash by Making Memories.

Head over to CP4U and see what the rest of the team did with this prompt--so fun to see all the different takes on the same inspiration piece! And I hope you'll play along--there's a great prize to be won, which is icing on the cake. See all the details at CP4U.

Thank you for visiting and reading about my page!

Party Time at Color Combos Galore!

Challenge 180 just went live at Color Combos Galore, and we have a fun and festive palette and Designer's Challenge this week!

Whenever I start my layouts for CCG, I put the color swatch up on my computer screen and then search for a photo that will go with the colors. I've had this picture of my mom on my computer for a while and have wanted to scrap it, but that bright red shirt was somehow not working for me. But when I got this combo, I knew it was time to scrap it. This one is for my multi-volume album called "Book of Silly," where I have all the silly family photos documented for eternity!

I pulled out lots of different papers for this one. The gray is SEI, the red polka dots is Girls' Paperie, the monsters are Sassafras Lass, the blue patterns are Scenic Route and Deja View, the red numbers are Making Memories, and I managed to use some "vintage" 7 Gypsies, too!

Here are some closeups: I just adore these little monsters from Sassafras Lass's Monstrosity collection. He was in a little frame, but the frame was the wrong color, so I cut him out and tucked him behind the number because he didn't have a body. He wasn't showing up against the blue paper, so I added that bit of 7 Gypsies paper. The numbers 6 and 5 are for my mom's age, 65.

The transparent tape measure is Teresa Collins. I was delighted to find the LOL sticker in my stash--the perfect color!

This scalloped border is an old Sassafras Lass stamp. I used embossing powder to give it some pizzazz.

Another little Sass monster. I cut off his body because was green and didn't go with the colors. The blue frame and the frame around the Jenni Bowlin ticket was cut out of that same Sass paper.

I can't remember who, but I saw someone have these free-floating pennants, and I thought I'd give it a try.

I have SO many of those old Doodlebug flowers, and I was happy to use one here. The speed limit signs are old Imagination Project stickers. One of the things I love about this challenge is that it gets me digging through my stash. The quote is another old sticker that came on a sheet by Narratives (Creative Imaginations, I think--they look like Chinese fortunes).

I tucked another little monster inside a frame. I forgot to ink him. That's really bugging me, so I think I'll take him out and give him some ink and then put him back. :)

Come on over to CCG and take a look at all the different ways the team did the banner challenge--so fun to see everyone's takes on the same challenge! I hope you'll play along. We have an awesome prize up for grabs from our sponsor, Unity Stamp Company. And we choose a layout to feature each day--it just might be you!

Thanks for stopping by my blog and looking at my page!

Cake Queen - Another Work in Progress Layout

In the past few years, my sister has become an amazing baker, and I needed to document that on my page. This picture was taken on my birthday when she made me my favorite lemon cake. It is truly divine, with lemon curd in the center and the most delicious icing. I used the February Work in Progress add-on kit, which features October Afternoon's Modern Homemaker, perfect for this page:

The chipboard pieces that came in the kit are so cute. Love this little pink mixer.

And how adorable is this pink apron! The numbers signify my date and were cut from a Jenni Bowlin bingo card. I managed to use some of my old Prima flowers on here. The yellow border sticker is from Crate Paper's Restoration line.

Trish included these cute donut epoxy stickers in the kit. And that rolling pin and "made by" label were perfect to add my sister's name. 

The vintage cake image came from The Graphics Fairy (my new best friend). How nifty are those glass pebbles--they came in the WIP Project kit.



The little famed flower accent is a BasicGrey "small details" element, which also came in the kit. You can see I tucked a piece of the Jenni Bowlin bingo card behind the photo mat.

The February WIP kits were so much fun to play with. So many fun little details packed into those kits! Thank you for stopping by my blog and reading about my layout!

An Elegant Valentine Palette at CCG!

Challenge 179 went live at Color Combos Galore last night, and this week's palette was chosen in honor of upcoming Valentine's Day. I love that we included gray in the mix:

This palette, plus the Designer's Challenge, was perfect for scrapping one of my wedding photos. I've just recently started re-scrapping them. When I first started scrapping, I was so excited with all the stickers and deco scissors, that I went to town on my wedding pictures, and unfortunately I ruined a lot of them with those dreadful scissors. I cringe when I look at that first scrapbook I made. It wasn't until lately that I've gotten the courage to start scrapping them again.

Here's the page I made. We got married way back in 1981--yes, that means we'll be celebrating our 30th anniversary this July! Boy does that make me feel old (though I was a child bride--really--I was seventeen)! The picture was taken in front of the courthouse steps.

I had pulled a whole bunch of papers out when I started planning my page, and to my surprise and delight, this clapperboard from one of the Webster's Pages Hollywood Vogue papers had the number 24 on it--we got married on July 24!

This transparent detail was cut from a Teresa Collins transparency that has a whole bunch of these pretty framed words on them. I wanted to lift it off the page so that the print would cast a pretty shadow on the white background. I added some jewels so that I could put the pop dots behind them.

I thought the Hambly birdcage rub-on was a perfect accent because it has two little lovebirds inside. I got that pretty laser-cut frame from a local scrapbook store. The "memories" label is also Teresa Collins, and the ticket is from The Graphics Fairy (my new best friend)--it comes in a whole sheet with different sayings, and what I love is that I can make it any size I want--which is important when you scrap 8 x 8. And isn't that border punch pretty? It's by EK Success.

I used some old 7 Gypsies paper (the circles with flowers) and added some gray pearls for shine and dimension. The red sayings came from Teresa Collins--it's a sheet of paper that has a gazillion word strips on it, all in red, black, and white. I got the butterfly through Google Images. I love the new Google feature that lets you select what color images you want. I knew I wanted red butterflies, so it was easy to find a couple of pretty ones and make them just the right size for my small page. I just printed them, cut them out, and popped on my page with pop dots under the wings and added some sparkly jewels. Yeah, after I drew in those antennae, I wished I had drawn them longer.

Here's a different red butterfly I found through Google Images.  Love all the pretty jeweled swirls they're making nowadays--perfect for a butterfly trail. And I added some lace at the top. Love the embossed Swiss dot cardstock.

This journaling spot is also from the Graphics Fairy. After I put it on, I realized the white was a way different shade than the other white cardstock pieces I had used, and it stuck out like a sore thumb, so I smudged some gray chalk around the edges.

The roses on the Inspiration Board cupcakes inspired me to use these tiny roses I got at Michael's (by Recollections). I love the edging BasicGrey has been adding on their glazed brads lately. So pretty! The gray velvet letters are American Crafts Thickers.

The frames I added to the left and right edge of my page are from a Teresa Collins paper. I added a bit of a Webster's Pages paper behind this one. The "Know This" stamp is also by Teresa Collins. I heat embossed it to make it a nice bold black.

The CCG team, Featured Member, and guest designer did a beautiful job with this palette. You should go take a peek at their work. And you should definitely play along--you might be selected as an upcoming Featured Member or even win the February prize from this month's sponsor, Unity Stamp Company. I hope to see your work in our Gallery soon!

Thank you for visiting my blog and reading about my page!

Re-Wind at CP4U

Challenge #51 is up at Creative Prompts for You, and it's a fun one--especially if you've been wanting to play but for some reason time got away. This week's prompt is to go back and do any of the past 50 challenges. I went way back to Challenge 11, a challenge called "Butterflies, Clearly Speaking," where we had to use a transprent element and use this image as inspiration:

And here is the page I made. I was drawn to Challenge #11: Butterflies...Clearly Speaking. The butterfly in the inspiration piece immediately reminded me of the Cavallini butterfly folder I had received in a scrapbook kit a few years back so I cut that out to use as a main design element and placed it at the bottom of my layout, like the butterfly in the inspiration piece. I was also inspired the text background and used some old 7 Gypsies text paper as my backdrop.

If you think this is a lame topic for a layout, take a look at this page I made a few months back, and you'll understand why I made it (journaling for that layout, in case you're interested, can be found here). I've lost 60 pounds so far.

For the clear element, I used a clear frame by Glitz Designs.

The moth and chalboard numbers also came from the same folder. I got the label holding the word "at" in my title from The Graphics Fairy. The sparkly chipboard letters are Making Memories--a couple of years old. Watch faces are by The Paper Studio.

The gold swirls are Prima, as is the text flower. The striped paper is Cosmo Cricket (Earth Love), and the ornate design beneath the strips is cut out of a Webster's Pages paper.

I hope you'll come over to CP4U and check out all the awesome inspiration over there and play along. This month's prize is from WeScrap.com. As a winner, you will get to chose ANY one of the WeScrap kits in stock as your prize!

Thank you for visiting and reading about my layout! Let me know (and link me up) if you play in a challenge!