Epic Road Trip Read | Scrap the Boys Challenge

Our challenge for June at Scrap the Boys is to use circles. Here's what I came up with:

Here are some details.

I used a free cut file called Bubble Blast from Paper Issues and backed it with various patterned papers from Simple Stories' Bro & Co collection.

I fussy cut stars to add more detail, layer and interest. A thumbs-up sticker and a brad added some more dimension. Of course that stupid brad had to turn sideways for the photo and I didn't ever get a chance to take another pic.

I wanted to use those Heidi Swapp Sun Chaser Thickers for the title, but they weren't quite showing up as much as I wanted to so I layered them on top of a torn strip of teal paper and then outlined them, and that made them really stand out. The word "Epic" and some old BasicGrey small letter stickers finished out the title. A torn strip of striped paper that had all the colors of the collection really grounded my layout and made it so that my circles weren't just floating on the page.

Some more text, combining a cursive diecut, a fussy-cut word, and a word sticker, added a visual triangle to keep the eye moving around the page.

I added a brad to the steering wheel diecut to form an additional visual triangle. The white word sticker served as another visual triangle. Visual triangles were one of the first design tips I learned from reading Creating Keepsakes way back when I started scrapbooking, and it has served me well over the years to achieve balance and movement on my page.

At the end, that checkered circle kept drawing my eye away from everything else, and I decided to use that paper to mount my layout, and that did the trick, I think.

Be sure to go check out how all the rest of the team interpreted this challenge. So many creative designs!

Look Forward | CSI Case File No. 389

Wow! It's been almost a year since my last blog post. The past few school years have been extremely stressful and busy, but I am now officially retired as of last week, and one of my goals is to keep up with my blog. Not sure if anyone reads it, but it's satisfying for me to document my scrappy pursuits if for no other reason. If you do read my blog, can you drop a note in the comments?

Over the next few weeks and months, I'm going to intersperse my blog posts with ones I never had a chance to write. Today, I'll begin with my most recent layout for CSI:

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

Clues I used: I used the color scheme and a combination of the prompts from the Testimony to write a list of things I'm looking forward to doing in my retirement, which was a week and a half away from the time I created this layout. Evidence clues I used are: pattern similar to the one in the scene, fruit, ampersand, paint, paintbrushes, triangles, decorative border (in the form of pom-pom trim, wood accents, metal, circular elements, tropical themed item (the pineapple), something transparent, stamping, and metal dies. 

And some details...

Sometimes when I get stuck, I scraplift myself, and this layout that I made 9 years ago popped up in my Facebook memories, so I used that as my design inspiration. You can see the inspiration for that layout here.

I've said it lots of times before, but one of the things I love about my challenges is that it gets me digging into my stash, and I used almost exclusively older stash for this layout and even though it's scraplifted off of a layout I made almost a decade ago, I still think the page looks fresh and new. That floral/scallop paper is an old paper by My Mind's Eye. The lettering for the title is a really old set of Thickers. The font is one of my favorites--2Peas Tasklist. I used to buy all their fonts and over the years of acquiring computers, I've lost track of all of the 2Peas fonts except this one.

I always try to cram in as many clues as I can, and in this one small close up I've got wood, 2 metal dies, pattern like the one in The Scene, metal dot, a decorative border (the pom-pom trim), and circular elements.

I chose a stencil to add some more circles--this stencil is from Bramble Fox. I mixed texture paste with some watered-down Distress ink and it wasn't exactly the color I was going for and it looked blantantly off, so I swiped a bit of gesso with my finger on each the circles to take the emphasis off of them. That did the trick and gave them an interesting look. I may try that again! I love happy accidents!

In this closeup you can see I used the something transparent clue--I fussy cut some circles out of an ancient Hambly transparency. The wooden ampersand met two clues--ampersand and wood.

When I was looking for an orange patterned paper, I came across this old banner pattern by Studio Calico and fussy cut a strand of it to add an extra bit of happy celebration to my page.

And of course I love it when I can find the perfect phrase stickers in my stash to help me tell my story.

Triangles were a clue and I found some enamel ones to match the heart I used in the photo above. I was trying to figure out how to include a tropical-themed item, which was one of the clues, and I found a pineapple in my stash to make a visual triangle with my other two wooden pieces, and I figured it wasn't too much of a stress to include a tropical item on this layout since I'll be in a perpetual summer break of sorts!

I just love the bracket die from Simply Graphic. I used it to highlight a picture of me on my morning walk because I look happy in this picture and also one of my main goals in my retirement is to finally get my weight loss journey under control now that I don't have the stress of my job. You can see I added another Hambly circle for another visual triangle on my page.

I also used the paint and paintbrush clues--the paint brushes and paint tubes were stamped on watercolor paper and then I painted them with cheap watercolors. (Stamping is also one of the clues-so that was a triple play!) I raided my paper scraps drawers to find papers in the colors of the Case File, roughed up the edges and add some outlining to give them extra detail and then zig-zagg stitched them for added texture.

To round out my layout I found a third perfect phrase sticker with a wonderful promise for my retirement to create one more visual triangle.

I would love for you to leave a comment letting me know you stopped by even if it's just "hi." I hope you'll come play with us at CSI--we have prizes and guest designer spots and a whole lot of fun!

I'm an Alien | Scrap the Boys July DT Debut

I wonder if anybody still looks at my blog? It really has been forever--since January that I've been able to post here. Virtual teaching was so incredibly time consuming that it left time for little else. I've been scrapping all this time and sharing on Instagram and some online galleries.

So, today is my debut for the Scrap the Boys team. Here's what I created:

Our challenge this month is all about cut files (if you don't have a cutting machine you can use a cutting die or punches) plus a fab mood board. We've teamed up with Confessions of a Paper Addict (COAPA Cut Files) for this challenge, and I chose the super fun Outer Space cut file to work with.

And here's the moodboard:

Here are some details. I had the cutest 3-dimensional alien stickers, and I chose the colors for my layout based on them. The moodboard reminded me of mixed media, so I started off by coating some cardstock with clear gesso and using the packaging technique to add watercolor with a bunch of the colors from the stickers.  I used a stencil with texture paste and white paint to add stars. I outlined a few of them with a fine-tipped pen to make them stand out more.

I had the perfect photo of my friend's little boy pretending to be an alien.

How awesome is this cut file? I cut it out in white and backed it with paper scraps from my stash. Once I laid it on the mixed media background, it didn't stand out as much as I was hoping, so I used the offset tool in Silhouette to cut another copy in navy blue. I originally had envisioned placing the cut file on that starry paper bordering the white paper, but then I remembered I wanted to do the mixed media, and I knew I couldn't make it work on that dark paper, so I decided I'd mat the white paper on the starry paper.

I added a little puffy heart to the window of the rocket because I always add at least one heart to the pages I give away.

Here's another one of those fun robot/aliens. I hope I can find these again. I think I bought them at Michael's a few years ago. They're so fun and colorful, and they have glitter. They're clear, so I mounted them on white paper and fussy cut them so they'd stand out.

Here's the bottom half of the cut file. I decided to put the title on the planet. I used adhesive foam to adhere the cut file to give the page added dimension.

I hope you'll come play along in this fun challenge! Someone will be chosen to be a guest designer for a future challenge!

Boo Yah! | Paper Issues Scraplift Sunday Challenge

I made this for one of the Scraplift Sunday challenges in October at Paper Issues.

Here's Cassie Wiscarson's awesome layout that I lifted. Obviously mine is going to look a little different because I scrap 8 x 8.

Here are some details. I used Bella Blvd's Sweet & Spooky collection from a couple of Halloweens ago. I love the cute little spiders in this collection. I added googly eyes to them. The die cut behind the photos is by Bramble Fox.

I always add hearts to the layouts I give away. How cute are these chipboard pieces?

I had this hairy fiber in my stash from eons ago that I thought would be perfect for a Halloween page.

Nuvo Drops were a perfect finishing touch.

Hello, Little Baker | CSI Case File No. 333

We've got some fun challenges for October at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration. Here's what I created for the first Case File.

Here are the Case File and clues for this challenge:

I knew I wanted to do a baking-themed layout to match the Case File, and I found these sweet pictures of my friend's daughter making zucchini bread. I dug through my stash looking for baking-themed elements that would match the Scheme, and I found that oven mitt die-cut which had most of the colors, with an aqua instead of the grayish blue, so I used that as my starting point. Then I just dug through my color-organized diecut boxes and pulled out stuff that would work with the photo and Case File. I managed to use the following Evidence clues: solid white background, polka dots, cupcakes, metal, labels, numbers, circles, something powdery (the stamp dots were heat-embossed), scallops, fabric (the brads), cooking-related items, and hearts.

Here are some details. I love poring through my stash to find perfect little bits to find, like this copper teapot charm and some fabric brads for the fabric clue.

This banner is super old. It's either by October Afternoon or Cosmo Cricket.  For my powder clue, I used turquoise embossing powder.

I found a pink corduroy topped brad to meet the fabric clue.

I love these old Mini Market tile letters by October Afternoon to use on my 8 x 8 pages when I have a long title.

This layout was really fun to make. I used lots of older stash, which always delights me! I hope you'll come play along with us. Lots of prizes to be won from our October sponsors:

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.