A Girl and Her Chicken | CSI Cold Case No. 338 + Paper Issues Sketch

I made this for our November Cold Case and also for Paper Issues sketch challenge.

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

I used these clues: Product clues - older papers in the color scheme, fabric, something distressed, older metal items, an unopened package of something; design clues: distress your papers, use a stencil and texture paste in the background, fussy cut elements from patterned paper to use as accents, use as many different textures as you can, add old metal brads.

Here's the sketch I used:

Here are some details. This was the perfect Case file for this picture of my friend's daughter holding one of their chickens! I used a chicken wire stencil for the background. I found this frayed fabric trim to use with the tags that was the perfect color and matched the fabric clue, and how perfect is the fabric word tag! See, this is why I don't get rid of my old stash. You just never know when you'll have the perfect opportunity to use it! That old brad was the perfect color too.

An old metal frame was perfect to frame this fun wooden chicken I found in my stash, and I had some perfect plain brads to go with the colors.

I always add a heart to the pages I give away and I found a perfect wooden one to go with my page. Note to self. Do not sit a page upright until AFTER the Nuvo Drops are dry!

I knew I had this old paper by Daisy D's with chickens on it. I fussy cut the chicken to use as an embellishment. After choosing the chickens, I went through my paper stash to find papers to go with it and found other Daisy D's papers and also some BasicGrey.

I had these ginormous chipboard letters in my stash, and I'm trying to use them up. I coated them with gesso and then ran some Distress inks over them. The other letters are by BasicGrey, and the tile letters are by Bo Bunny, I think.

It just delights me to no end to find phrase stickers that are perfect for my pages!

Sparkly | CSI Case File No. 337 + Paper Issues Sketch

Here's my page for our second November Case File at CSI. I also played along with a sketch challenge at Paper Issues.

Here are the Case File and clues for this challenge.

I obviously used the color scheme, but I also used the following evidence clues: solid paper, florals, puffy stickers, fabric brads, silver metal, frames, rhinestones, transparent elements, and circular elements. The slant of the roof in The Scene led me to choose the sketch.

Here's the sketch that inspired my page: 

Here are some details. I used lots of old stash on here. Those slide mounts are among the earliest embellishments in my stash, which means they're nearly 20 years old. That old metal Making Memories frame has been in my stash forever too. Do you recognize that alphabet paper inside that frame? It's by ki Memories. Since gray was in the color scheme, I left some of the chipboard frames raw.

The green chipboard frames are also pretty old, by Making Memories. I found some purple sparkly letters in my stash that were perfect for this fun photo of my friend's daughter. Then I found some shaped Thickers in the same glittery purple. Perfect! That purple flower thing met the transparent element clue.

Some more purple sparkly embellishments from that Thicker set and some shiny metallic purple stickers finished off my layout.

Sweet | Paper Issues Keep It Sketchy - Sketch #3

I'm super excited that Paper Issues decided to go with weekly sketches instead of just one each month. Here's a page I made for the Sketch #3:

Here's the sketch. I used the same basic design, but I substituted a chipboard embellishment for one of the pictures, I didn't angle the photos, and I added some more stuff.

I used Fancy Pants Cherry on Top chipboard pieces as my starting point and then used papers and some other elements from my stash to build my page. Those little birds were in a drawer I have with other bird embellishments. I had printed them out. I think they were probably from when we had "CSI Coordinates" many moons ago. The colors were perfect for this page and add a bit of whimsy. I added soem googly eyes for fun.

I had this already tied red ribbon in my red ribbon jar and decided it would be the perfect touch to this sundae bowl, along with the chipboard heart because I always add a heart to the pages I give away. I found some fun phrase stickers in my stash that were dessert-related. The gingham one was perfect and led me to use the gingham brads.

I found some tiny tags in my stash and tied one onto one of the brads. Those labels are ancient Martha Stewart labels. It's actually one label that I cut in half.

At the very last minute, I added that spoon because that empty space was bugging me. I really liked the addition of this and tied on a charm that's been in my stash for eons. I just love combining old and new stash!

I hope you'll come play along. This was a fun sketch to play with! Be sure you enter your layout in the Facebook group for your chance to win a gift certificate to the shop. Speaking of the shop, there are all sorts of new goodies, and lots of pieces of this Cherry on Top collection in stock. And whenever you shop at Paper Issues, please use my discount code Debbi (no e on the end), and you'll get 20% off of everything in the store, including kits, every single day!

2 Cuties | Paper Issues 30 Days of Sketches - Day 28

I finally finished all 30 sketches in Paper Issues 30 Days of Sketches! However, I'm SO behind on posting them, so I'm doing some quick blog posts to catch up. Here's my page for Sketch 28:

Here's the sketch.

And some details. I used the Fancy Pants Happy Place collection from a couple of years back because the colors matched the kids' clothes. There weren't any cutesy elements, so I stamped some Tim Holtz crazy birds on coordinating cardstock. In retrospect, I wish I had stamped on white paper and painted the birds. Next time... The speech bubbles were fussy cut from an old Studio Calico paper.

How fun are these birds? I love how this one looks like he's looking up at the kids. I used the awesome Bella Blvd Florence alphas for my title. Such an playful, fun font, and it comes in every color of the rainbow.

This 30 Days of Sketches challenge is now over, but Paper Issues has a sketch every month, plus scads of other challenges, and there's a fun Alphabet Soup challenge that will run across 26 days, with a new challenge for each letter of the alphabet. Whenever you shop at Paper Issues, please use my discount code Debbi (no e on the end) and you'll get 20% off of everything in the store, including kits, every single day!

Happy Cousins | Paper Issues 30 Days of Sketches - Day 19

I'm still making my way through the 30 Days of Sketches at Paper Issues! Here's my layout for Sketch 19:

And here's the sketch:

I used the Color Me Happy collection by Pretty Little Studio. How adorable are these little animals?

I used the Heart Target FREE cut file from Paper Issues and backed it with several of the patterned papers from the Color Me Happy collection. This paper has an awesome sheen that sometimes makes it hard to photograph in the sunshine.

How totally adorable is that flair badge? I wanted to hoard it but decided I just had to use it. Plus, there are still some in the shop, so I might just have to order another pack!

The phrase flags are awesome. I love that there are so many on the sheet.

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

Creek Magic | Paper Issues 30 Days of Sketches - Day 18

I'm probably not going to finish all 30 sketches by the end of May, but I'm sure gonna try! Here's my layout for sketch 18. I could NOT get a good picture of this layout, even though I tried scads of times. I eventually gave up, knowing that in real life, it's really pretty, and my friend is going to love it.

Here's the sketch. I had a heck of a time with this sketch, and I almost skipped it, but I saw Devra Hunt's awesome page, where she tweaked the sketch, and I loosely used hers as inspiration.

Here are some details shots. I used Crate Paper's Magical Forest, which seemed perfect for these photos. How fun and whimsical are those rainbows in this collection?

I know that tree doesn't fit in with the sketch, but it just seemed right for these photos. For my title, I used some old Heidi Swapp chipboard letters (they're still a classic to me) and some old American Crafts Remarks letter stickers.

 I found some old K&Co. word stickers that matched the palette.

I hope you'll come join our challenge. There's still plenty of pieces from the Magical Forest collection in the shop.  Please use my code Debbi (no e on the end) and you'll get 20% off of everything in the store, every single day!

Big Smiles | Paper Issues 30 Days of Sketches - Day 4

Hey, did you know Paper Issues is trying to keep up our spirits during this COVID-19 shut-in by giving us 30 sketches for 30 days. I'm going to try to do all of them! Here's my layout for Day 4:

Here's the sketch I used:

Here are some details. I used Paper Issues' Greener Pastures kit from last March. I tend to hoard my kits, and I decided I'm going to try to use them for these sketch challenges. You'll have to pardon that cheery blossom petal. There was a storm of them blowing off my tree while I was photographing my layout, and I didn't notice it was there until now, and of course it's raining outside now. Most of the stuff on my page is from Vicki Boutin's Color Kaleidoscope collection, plus a couple of pieces of ephemera from Maggie Holmes Sunny Days collection. The Nuvo drops were in the kit too. The tiny tassels are from my stash.

I fussy cut the hearts from one of the patterned papers, hand-stitched them down and folded the top layer up. I decided to add the tiny tassels for extra interest and texture.

Here's a shot of the title and journaling. The brackets are from a die by a French Company called Simply Graphic.

I hope you'll come join our challenge. If you like the Color Kaleidoscope collection, there are several pieces the Paper Issues store, and lots more from other Vicki Boutin collections, not to mention lots of other new products. Please use my code Debbi (no e on the end) and you'll get 20% off of everything in the store, every single day!