Fall Dream | CSI Case File No.336 and Paper Issues Free-File Challenge

I made this page back in November for CSI's Case File No. 336.  I also played along with Paper Issues' Free File Free-for-All challenge.

Here are the Case File and clues that inspired my page:

As you can see, I used the color scheme and lots of the Evidence clues--stripes, wood background, floral pattern, frames, puffy stickers, punctuation, leaves, stars, metal, fabric brads, something transparent, cursive fonts, and a metal die.

Here are some details. Almost everything on this page is super old. I used Paper Issues' Patchwork Pumpkin FREE cut file and backed it with old papers from my paper scraps drawers in colors to match the palette. The leaves are from the October Daily Dex FREE cut file.

Old little odds and ends from my stash to meet the clues: fabric brad, punctuation, old Crate Paper chipboard frame, Evalicious puffy sticker, metal BasicGrey brad.

That cool diecut behind the photo is by Bramble Fox. I always add a heart or two to the pages I give away as gifts. Nuvo drops are a great way to add some extra detail and texture.

The title was made from super old Heidi Swapp rub-ons that I rubbed onto white paper and fussy-cut. When I say old, I'm not lying. The package said 2003. That's almost 18 years old, people, and they still rubbed off like butter!

Another oldie--remember these transparent swirly embellishments from My Mind's Eye? I was glad to get this one out of the drawer and onto a page.

Ready for School | CSI Case File No. 331+ Paper Issues Free File Free for All Challenge

The second September Case File at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration reminded me of a perfect FREE cut file from Paper Issues, one of our sponsors this month. And I had the perfect picture of my friend's daughter to use for this challenge.

Here are the Case File and clues for this challenge:

I used the color scheme and as always, I challenged myself to use as many Evidence clues as I could. I managed to use dots, text pattern, stars, planet (globe), light bulb, school-related elements, alphabet as a design element, stacked books, transparent elements, dangle elements, punch, string, and decorative borders.

Here's the awesome FREE cut file I used from Paper Issues.

I always enjoy digging through my stash to find the perfect elements for my CSI pages. All of the papers I used to back the book cut files were from my paper scraps drawers. Most are pretty ancient.

That little schoolhouse was cut out of a paper. I found that pencil on a scrap of paper, but I didn't have any full-length pencils on the scrap, so I pieced two halves together and covered it up with some old Jenni Bowlin school-themed letter stickers. The pink ledger chipboard alphabet are old Making Memories Noteworthy. The black chipboard letters are from BasicGrey. When all else fails, add a Tweet wood veneer from Studio Calico.

These transparent light bulbs are by Maya Road. The stars were cut out of the same paper as the little schoolhouse in the above picture. Those scattered letters in the background are a stamp by Carabelle Studio. The cool black heart globe is a piece by Bramble Fox.

I found this old Studio Calico wood veneer school  days speech bubble in my stash, which was a perfect touch.

I hope you'll come play along with CSI. As always, we have loads of sponsors donating prizes each month.

Love | CSI Case File No. 322 + Paper Issues Scraplift Sunday

I created this layout for Case File No. 322 at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration and also for Paper Issues Scraplift Sunday challenge.

Here are the Case File and Clues for the CSI challenge. I loved the color scheme so much, I decided to make another layout for this Case File. This time, I omitted the pink, but the peach and navy reminded me of the Twilight Collection by One Canoe Two.

I used the following evidence clues: solid cardstock, patterns with plants, fruit, foliage, paint, labels, cut something, phrase stickers, and the same font with different colors.

Paper Issues is one of our sponsors this month, so I played along with one of the Scraplift Sunday challenges. Here is Kat's amazing layout I scraplifted.

I used a Paper Issues FREE cut file called Rainbow Corners.

I went through my paper scraps to find some solid-ish or painted-looking papers that matched the Twilight papers to back the rainbow, and I found tons of old papers that matched--Cosmo Cricket, old My Mind's Eye, Chatterbox... Love being able to combine old and newer stuff. Not sure what brad that collection belongs to, but I thought it went well with this collection.

Fruit was a clue, and I found a pinky-peach strawberry in another OneCanoeTwo collection. The stickers and labels are all from the Twilight collection.

One of the clue was to use a font in different colors, and I have a couple of different alphas that meet that description, but the BasicGrey letters matched the colors pretty well. I added some watercolor splashes to the background, and I always add hearts to layouts I give away.

I hope you'll come play along with CSI and with Paper Issues. You could win a gift card from both the CSI challenge or the Paper Issues challenge because Paper Issues is sponsoring us this month!

And please use my discount code, Debbi (no e on the end), when you shop at Paper Issues, and you'll get 20% off your entire order, all the time!

Well, Hello There. | Paper Issues 30 Days of Sketches - Day 11

I'm sure you've heard by now that Paper Issues is trying to keep up our spirits during this COVID-19 quarantine by giving us 30 sketches for 30 days. I'm on a mission to do them all! Here's my layout for Day 11:

Here is the sketch for this challenge:

Here are some details. I used the rainbow from Paper Issues' Happy Sunny Days FREE cut file to replace the green rectangle in the sketch. That meant I needed to move the other parts over to the right so I wouldn't cover up the rainbow. Hence my page doesn't look very much like the sketch, but I promise it was my starting point. Isn't this the sweetest photo ever? I thought the colors called for Crate Paper's Magical Forest collection.

There wasn't a title on the sketch, so I added one to the top left corner of my page. That large expanse of woodgrain paper was looking mighty plain, so I added some hearts using texture paste and an Echo Park stencil.

I just can't stop saying how darling this picture is of my friend's daughter meeting their newest goat. I had to add that "Oh My Darling" sticker and a cute little girl and a lovely pink bow.

I hope you'll come join our challenge. If you like the Magical Forest collection, there are lots of elements still in the Paper Issues store. Please use my code Debbi (no e on the end) and you'll get 20% off of everything in the store, every single day!

Donut Love | Paper Issues 30 Days of Sketches - Day 10

We've got 30 Days of Sketches at Paper Issues! I'm on a mission, I tell you! As of this writing, I've done 14. Here's Day 10:

Here's the sketch. I changed it up just a little.

And here are some details. Since I scrap 8 x 8, my pictures are very small, and I print them on an 8.5 x 11 sheet, and I don't want to waste the photo paper, so I always print a whole bunch of pictures at a time, not knowing when I'm going to scrap them. This one of my friend's daughter caught my eye. She is just so adorable wearing that Krispy Kreme hat! I knew I had several things in my stash with donuts, so I started looking through my stuff and came across this birthday collection by Jillibean Soup called Souper Celebration. It wasn't a birthday photo, but this collection had donuts, so I was determined to use it. Plus, donuts are always a cause for celebration, aren't they?

I just used a FREE cut file from Paper Issues called V Background. I cut it out and only used part of it to make that triangle shape that was in the sketch. I backed it with papers from the collection and then outlined the insides with a fine pen. I added some cardstock bits to the balloons to look like they have a reflection. I'm in love with that happy alligator! I found a couple of colorful brads in my stash and some Nuvo Drops.

I'm in love with the Florence alphabets by Bella Blvd. They're a nice small size, perfect for my 8 x 8 pages.

I hope you'll come join our challenge. Whenever you're shopping at the Paper Issues store, please use my code Debbi (no e on the end) and you'll get 20% off of everything in the store, every single day!

Easter Egg Hunt | Paper Issues 30 Days of Sketches - Day 9

Yes, I plan to do all 30 Days of Sketches at Paper Issues! I'm on a mission, I tell you! As of this writing, I've done 14. Here's Day 9

Here's the sketch. I changed it up just a little. I originally had the blocks all lined up, but it looked too blocky to me.

And some details. I used Pinkfresh Studio's My Favorite Story collection. The pretty pastel palette is perfect for Easter Pictures.

I used elements from Paper Issues FREE cut file Easter Chicks. I outlined everything to add dimension and definition. I think I went overboard!

I just love the beautiful fabric bows in this collection. You can mix and match patterns. The chipboard flair is a nice addition to this collection.

How fun is the bunny in this cut file? I thickened the outline because he was pretty small on my small page, and it kept tearing. I added Nuvo Drops all around the page. I think I went overboard on those too! What can I say? I love Nuvo Drops!

I hope you'll come join our challenge. If you like the My Favorite Story collection, there are lots of elements still in the Paper Issues store. Please use my code Debbi (no e on the end) and you'll get 20% off of everything in the store, every single day!