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!

Favorite Hair Place {Bramble Fox Stash Smash Challenge}

I made this page for the current Stash Smash challenge over at Bramble Fox.

Here's the April challenge. Every month, the Stash Smash challenge gives a topic and something from your stash to you.

Here are some details. How beautiful is that shiny silver Perspextive? It was in the April Fox Box, but you can also buy it separately.

When I set out to scrap these photos from my visit to my favorite hair salon, Alter Ego, I remembered this Felicity Jane kit that had the girl with the big curly hair. It turned out to be perfect for the colors in my pictures.

As you can see, I stitched through my title and the borders and added some tangled thread behind the photos. How gorgeous is that gold bow? It's from the Glitzy and Glamour set. The star that I added to the bottom title is also a silver Perspextive.

I hope you'll come play in our monthly Stash Smash challenges.  You might win a gift certificate to buy some of these beautiful products!

I Am an Early Birdy {Paper Issues Ad-spiration Challenge}

Today I'm up on the Paper Issues blog. Here's my post:

Good morning, Paper Issues fans! Are you ready to be ad-spired? I'm sharing a fun challenge to make a layout inspired by this ad:

The clock featured in this ad made me think of the fact that I get up at 5:00 seven days a week, even when I'm on vacation. The title "Early Bird" came to me, so I went to my stash looking for birds as well as a paper collection that featured red, since that's the first thing that caught my attention in this ad. The Fancy Pants Dream Big collection has both red in some of the papers and birds, so that's what I went with. The store still has a few elements from this beautiful collection, including the "Call It a Plan" patterned paper, which is the star-sprinkled paper I used as my base.

I mostly used sheets from the Dream Big 6 x 6 pad and some bits and pieces from the ephemera pack. The alarm clock is from a free cut file called "Back to School."  

The Simple Stories gold title and hearts are a nod to the metal in the ad's clock. I adhered most everything with adhesive foam to give my layout some extra dimension. I couldn't find a proper spot to add my journaling, so I put it on back with a note about that along the bottom to echo the text in the the bottom of the ad. My journaling basically talks about how I went from a night owl to an early bird, why I love getting up early, and how I spend my morning time.

I hope you'll give this fun challenge a try. I'd love to see how the ad inspires you! You have until July 1 to play. Make sure you share your creation in the Paper Issues Friends & Fans Facebook album for a chance to win a gift certificate to the Paper Issues shop.

And take a peek at all the awesome stuff in the store. Be sure to use my code, Debbi, to get 20% off your entire order!

2Crafty March DT Work

It's my turn to share on the 2Crafty blog today. Here's my post:

"This Is Me Without the E"

2Crafty is sponsoring CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration this month, so come on over and

 play for a chance to win some awesome 2Crafty chipboard! We will have 3 challenges

 this month.

But before we get started

Please remember while you are here  to become a blog follower  & leave a blog comment to be eligible to go in our monthly draw  for a great chippie prize pack.

 This is the first Case File for March. For those who have never played, 

it's as easy as 1-2-3. 1) Use the 5 colors. 2) Pick at least 3 elements from the Evidence list. 

3) Pick at least 1 element from the Testimony (journaling) list.

I was able to use lots of 2Crafty chipboard to help me with both my Evidence and Testimony clues. 

For example, this awesome little piece from the "Kites" set, which comes with 3 kites in different sizes.  I painted the string with white gesso and the kit bows with a bright orange paint. The chipboard kite is engraved where the four triangles meet, so you'll see those divisions if you decide to paint this piece, but I chose to cover them with patterened paper, which was easy to do by putting the corner of the paper into the intersection of the engraving and then tracing the paper and cutting it. (I hope that makes sense).  The title piece "This Is Me" was colored with black stamp ink. I then traced the word "me" with a white Uniball gel pen. One of the Testimony clues was to journal about your name, so this was a perfect piece to use.

Part of my journaling about my name is how, when I was in 2nd grade there were five Debbies in my class, so in a quest to have a different name, I decided I'd drop the E. Hence my title "This Is Me Without the E." I used an E from the "Alpha Set 1." I added a small butterfly from the "Sharon's Butterflies," which includes 8 butterflies in a variety of sizes. I painted this butterfly with orange acrylic paint.  The leafy branch is from "Foliage Set 1" and also met one of the Case File Clues. I used Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Powder on this.

One of the Case File clues was a window, and I thought I could use a frame from the "Polaroid Assortment Frames" to create a window--this also counted as the frame clue from the Case File. I coated the frame with white embossing powder and used a fine-tipped pen to add outlines. I scrap 8 x 8, so this larger frame from the set is always difficult for me to use. Using it as a window in my design was the perfect solution! I used a piece cut from the "Apron Lace" border to create a sort of valance and put a piece of vellum beneath to mimic a sheer curtain. To create a lacy look, I first coated the border with gesso and then used an ecru stamp to color it, stamped it with an old Studio Calico lace stamp and embossed it in white.

I needed a little something-something in the top corner, so added some washi tape, painted a thin arrow from "Assorted Arrows" with orange acrylic paint, outlined it and topped it with a brad.

2Crafty Products used on this layout:

Kites

This Is Me

Alpha Set 1

Sharon's Butterflies

Foliage Set 1

Polaroid Assortment Frames

Apron Lace border

Assorted Arrows

"Crazy About You (Emphasis on the Crazy)"

This is an old picture of my sister and brother-in-law being silly. It seems to be a 

favorite picture of hers because she keeps reposting it as her profile pic on Facebook, 

so I decided I'd make a layout for her with this photo.

The "Crazy About You" title was the perfect piece for this page. I inked each word with separate colors to match the colorful papers I chose. I used 3 of the "Chevron Bits," coated with patterned paper to point to the silly photo. I also coated different hearts, from the "ATC Tiny Hearts and Stars" set and one of the "Chunky Hearts," with different papers. I outlined all of these pieces with a black Pigma Micron pen. I wanted a sort of comic book feel to this page.

I've been wanting to use the little 2Crafty chipboard alien "Blobbles" for a while now, and this was my perfect chance! I topped him with patterned paper and added some google eyes and another little heart from "ATC Tiny Hearts and Stars." The Blobbles come with engraved eyes, if you want to pain them on instead, but since I had covered the piece with the paper, I wasn't able to do that. A frame from "Polaroid Assortment" and a zig-zaggy arrow from the "Crazy Arrows" set were the perfect canvases for the subtitle of my page.   2Crafty Chipboard used on this layout: Crazy About You Chevron Bits ATC Tiny Hearts and Stars Chunky Hearts Blobbles Polaroid Assortment Crazy Arrows  

"Seriously Put Me Down"

I thought I'd share this extra page I made using some 2Crafty pieces. I'm guest designing  at Stuck?! Sketches this month. Here's the sketch I was given to play with:  

As soon as I saw the circle in the sketch, I knew I wanted to use the awesome  2Crafty

 "6" Circle Revolution Frame, " which comes in three different sizes to the set. I also 

a couple of arrows from the "Assorted Arrows." I coated both of them with black ink.

2Crafty Products used on this layout:

6" Circle Revolution Frames

Assorted Arrows

Thank you for stopping by and reading about my layouts. 

I hope I've given you some ideas for using these awesome 2Crafty pieces. 

Read: A Wonderful Story {CSI Case File No. 180}

We've got a super-fun Case File open for investigation at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration.

Here is my page. Clues I used...Evidence: polka dots, light bulb, animal, banner, eye glasses (on the little bear), mushrooms, leaves, scallops, book pages, doilies, metal, decorative border, watercolor; Testimony: Document something about books/reading.

Here are some details. The stamps are all by Denim Tampons, one of our sponsors this month. I used a lot of older stash, along with some newer its. The light bulb is by Maya Road. The banner is by Recollections. The little bespectacled bear is a puffy sticker by My Little Friends. The yellow decorative border under the title is by Crate Paper, and the diamonds came form the centers. That yellow scallop bit is an old Doodlebug Frills. The washi tape is Recollections. Those felt letter stickers are by Making Memories--super old, as are the mushrooms cut out of an old Sassafras Lass paper.

I made the background by spraying ink on plastic packaging and smushing it on the paper and then stamping over that. The leaves are from an old Scenic Route paper. The brown alphabet bit is packaging from a Studio Calico wood veneer alphabet. Oops! Looks like that bit of yellow washi tape is trying to escape!

I forgot to photograph my journaling (on the tag), but basically it talks about how important I think it is to pass on a love of reading to my students, which is what that article in NEA Today was about (yes, that's me in my classroom with my students on the cover of the magazine), and how it saddens me to see how this crucial part of educating our children seems to have been lost in the new Common Core curriculum.

We've got awesome prizes from eight sponsors up for grabs, and this Case File stays open until November 13, so come play with us!

2Crafty August DT Layouts

It's my turn to share my DT work at at the 2Crafty blog today. Here's my post. 
"This Is Me Summer 2015"

  I've had a super-busy summer, and I wanted to document all the goings-on.  I just happened to have this picture of me holding the sign,  and that made me think of the 2Crafty "This is Me" title,  so that was the perfect starting point. For those who don't know, I scrap 8 x 8,  which is why some of the 2Crafty elements look larger on my page.  

  I coated the "This is Me" title with gesso first, and then dabbed several different  pink stamp inks to get the "This is" part to match my papers.  Next, I used Gold Zing embossing powder on the "Me."  

  Since the idea of time was important for this layout, the "6" Clock Face Frames" were a perfect accent for my page.  I coated the clock with gesso and then went over it  with white acrylic paint. I treated the butterflies from the "Sharon's Butterflies" set  with the same gold embossing powder as the title. The "Polaroid Assortment Frames"  are a wonderful set to have--there are 8 pieces in the pack,  and they give some great dimension and interest to your page.  I covered mine with patterned paper.  

  I used a piece from the "2015's" set, coated with gold Zing embossing powder, for my subtitle.  

I used a "Sharon's Butterfly" in place of a tab to pull the tag out of the little

 polka dot paper bag. I've journaled on both the back and front of the tag, 

listing the noteworthy things from my summer break.

2Crafty Products used on this layout: This is Me 6" Clock Face Frames Sharon's Butterflies Polaroid Assortment Frames 2015's

"Class of 2014"

  I took these photographs right after I set up my classroom last year,  and I got the 2Crafty Class of 2014 piece with the intention of scrapping the pictures.  The school year zipped by, and I regretted not having scrapped them,  but as I get ready to start a new school year, in a new grade level, I decided now was the time.  

I wanted my title to match the school-themed elements I had cut out of a patterned paper, 

so I inked all of the letters in "Class of 2014" with black stamp ink, except for the zero, 

which I was planning to use with the "Light Bulb." 

Then, I outlined the title with a white gel pen to give them the same look 

as the school accents. I used several shades of yellow stamp ink

 to get a color that matched the yellow grid paper I used. 

The light bulb was coated with silver embossing powder. 

Isn't a light bulb a perfect accent for a school-themed page?

I cut the "Interlocking Grid Panel" in pieces to use as layers under a couple of the photos, 

coating them first with gesso and then dabbing them with two different stamp inks.

  The circle framing the picture above is from "Circle Stack," and I coated it with gesso  and then outlined it with a fine pen. The arrows with the words pointing to each picture  are from the "Asst Arrows" set. I also used various shades of ink,  tempered with a little gesso, to get a more muted primary color. 2Crafty Products used on this layout: Class of 2014 Light Bulbs Interlocking Grid Panel Circle Stack Asst Arrows

Thank you so much for stopping by and taking a look at my pages. 

I hope I've given you some ideas for using these awesome 2Crafty elements.