Bezu {CSI Case File No. 5}

We went live with Case File No. 5 last night! And we have a new sponsor: Boys Rule Scrapbook Kits. There's still almost two days to play with the last January challenge for a chance to win a prize from our January Sponsor, The Dusty Attic.

We have a fun and quirky theme to tie the challenges together this month--February is Exotic Vegetables and Starfruit Month. :)  Here's the first Case File for February:

So, I've been having "printer issues." When I moved, something happened, and my printer decided to stop working, so I bought a new printer and that thing gave me fits--streaky photos, bad color. Ugh. We took it back but I didn't have it hooked up when I sat down to do this challenge, and I was in a rush because I didn't get to work on my page until the night before the reveal, so I didn't get to print out my colors. I just kept my fingers crossed that I could match my papers to what I saw on the screen.

So here's my page. The clues I used:

Evidence: Frame, cutting tools, leaves, corner
Testimony: Slice of life, advertisement, face/hidden

A couple of years ago, my husband and I found this charming restaurant called Bezu (which apparently means kiss in French), and on the way out, we noticed these adorable business cards sitting on a table, so we snagged two, and when we got in the car, we tucked them into the visors, behind the mirrors so that only the bottom with the kissy lips showed and the restaurant address was hidden. I had printed that picture out with my bad printer (you can see the streaks a little), and I thought that picture would work with these colors.

I decided to make my journaling sound like an ad:

Here are a few details. The cardstock I used is actually a reddish brown, even though it's showing up almost black, as are the pearls I used. That photo corner isn't that dark either. Not sure why it photographed so dark. I've been having to take pictures in my classroom.



I used a border punch to make the border around the circle, using the same Making Memories Ledger paper that I used in the background and cut slits and then just adhered it to the back of the circle. The light green paper is by K&Co, and the red chevron is October Afternoon.

I cut the flowers and leaves (and the red polka dot strip) out of Cosmo Cricket Early Bird paper--one of my all-time favorite paper collections. The brown lanterns came from a Webster's Pages paper--another one of my all-time favorite papers. The little xoxo tag is by Bella Blvd, and it came with my February Work in Progress kit (as did that chevron paper).

A little frame I tucked behind some of the layers--it's been in my stash for probably eight years. The green polka dot is by Scenic Route.

Whenever I make a layout, I try to wait a day before photographing it to see if it "needs" anything. I added this little bit right before leaving for school. I wanted a bit more of the darker green on my page, and I just kept adding stuff.

Come see what the rest of the team made with this Case File, and I hope you'll join us. These colors were really fun to work with, and if you have any leftover Christmas pictures, it would be a great palette to use with them.

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading about my page today!

Creative Prompts for You

I'm not very prompt sharing my last two layouts created for Creative Prompts for You, but we're taking a little holiday break, so here they are.

The first one is based on this interesting ad that Wendy selected:

I used my December Work in Progress kit to make this page. I took inspiration from the prompt by using a black background and a black and white photograph of my grandmother when she was young. I also used yellow and (off) white as my main colors. The yellow flower in the bottom corner reminded me of the chipboard flowers I used, but I placed them in the opposite corner. The composition of the inspiration piece inspired my design, with the photo on the left, the journaling on the right, and the title above them. I used the bracket and the chipboard lady to mimic the doorway framing the photo.



And Challenge #46 was a multiple prompt, where we had to use a one word title, use only patterned papers, use hand sewing, and use at least 1 stamp. Here's what I made:

Go check out all the awesome creations by the CP4U team, and I hope you'll play along. You have until the January 6th to submit your creation based on this challenge. Our next prompt will be posted on January 6th.

This month's winner will be randomly selected of all the participant entries for the entire month. This month's prize is a $10 gift certificate donated by Your Next Stamp and also a chance to guest design with our team for February 2011.

I Love Lucy!

Well, actually, I love my husband and that he loves cheesy photo ops! So that gave me the idea to start an album featuring all these goofy snapshots. I made this page with the awesome December Work in Progress kit, which I believe hasn't yet sold out. I am totally in love with Cosmo Cricket's Circa 1934 collection, and it's featured in this kit. Here's another page I made with it (all the supplies except the brads and stamp came in the kit):

Aren't those chipboard banners cool? I mounted mine on black cardstock to make them stand out more against the patterned paper. I layered a border that came from the sticker sheet over them to give them a connection to my photo.

The title letters were punched from one of the patterned papers that came in the kit.

A stamp from my favorite stamp company, Catslife Press. (I asked if they'd make a stamp saying "Reason No. because I'm making this book of Reasons--all the little reasons I love my husband, and they made this stamp, as well as a circular one with journaling lines at my request.)

I just adore this collection, and I'm so happy Trish packed this kit so full because even after six layouts with lots of stuff piled on, I still have tons left! Thanks for visiting my blog and reading about my page!

Another WIP Layout to Share

I'd like to share another page I made with the fabulous December Work in Progress Kit. It's definitely my favorite kit yet!

I'm an 8 x 8 scrapper. And I like to tell stories on my pages. And I like to add lots of pretty stuff on my pages. And Work in Progress gives me LOTS of pretty stuff to put on my pages. So that often presents me with a dilemma--how to fit it all on that small canvas.

Enter Cosmo Cricket tear-off strips. I try to include my stories on the front of my page, but when I just can't cram it on, I resort to hidden journaling. I'm sure you've noticed those nifty little sayings that Cosmo Cricket prints on their bar-code strips that tell you there's another pattern on the reverse side. I often use those on my pages to indicate there's more to read on the back.

I did this on my Woe is Me page, with the little strip that says "for the rest of the story...." I added some other clues that hint at the hidden journaling: I added the word "over" using the cool Jenni Bowlin letters on the Elle's Studio journaling spot, both of which are in the kit this month. I also cut out one of the designs from the patterned paper leaving one of the curvy elements on it, that to me looked sort of like an arrow. And I added the "Laugh Out Loud" (you'll understand why in a moment) cut out from the Circa 1934 Borders along with a chipboard pen nib, which also served as a sort of arrow.

In case you're wondering, here's my journaling: A sprained ankle with purple toes. Seriously bad hair day. Mammoth zit on my face the day before parent-teacher conferences (great timing--I never get zits anymore!). I was in no mood for theater going, but Farzad had bought tickets for us to see Hair, so off we went. I couldn't walk because I had just taken a fall two days before, and the thought of hobbling around on crutches was the last thing I wanted to do. All I wanted to do was sit on the sofa with ice on my foot, but I couldn't disappoint Farzad. He was such a good sport and wheeled me around the Kennedy Center. He's gifted at reading my mind and knew just the thing to bring me out of my foul mood by racing me up and down the halls of the Kennedy Center in that wheelchair, pretending he was going to run over people. I'm giggling right now as I write this! {photo taken on October 31, 2010; journaling written on November 27, 2010}

Here are a couple of close-ups of my layout:

I just love all the chipboard pieces in the kit. I used a ton on my projects, and I still have a bunch left!

Thank you for reading about my page! I'll share some others I made with this kit later in the week.

Work in Progress December Layouts Revealed!

The Work in Progress December gallery went live today, so I can start sharing my layouts! This month's kit is probably my favorite so far! And I don't think it's sold out yet, so if you want to grab it, you can get it here.

Here's my favorite layout I made with this kit. The Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934 was, of course, perfect for heritage pictures. The little girl is my mom, and that's my Gram, her husband, and her parents in the picture. I haven't had time to journal yet, but I'm going to write my thoughts on the back of the page.

Here are a few detail photos of this page: That sheet of chipboard stickers has so many pieces! I really layered them onto all six of the pages I made, and still have quite a few pieces left!

I made this next page for Creative Prompts for You. It was my turn to choose the inspiration piece, and this is what I chose:

And here is the page I made, using  the December Work in Progress Kit. The little houses are from a previous WIP kit.

The inspiration piece inspired the overall design, colors, the details, and the theme of my page. The blue wall with the white molding is imitated by my polka dot strip. The mesh in the windows inspired my use of the grid paper. My transparency strip was inspired by the windows. I added the leaves when I noticed the potted plant sitting on the windowsill. I drew several of my details from the photo--the little row of houses, the frames, the clock. My journaling on the back talks about how I've reread my favorite book, Alias Grace, several times.

Here are a few closer looks at this page:
 

Thank you for stopping by and looking at my work! I will share some more about my other layouts in the next couple of days.

 
Oh, and if you'd love a chance to WIN this awesome kit, come play with us at Color Combos Galore this month--Work in Progress is our generous sponsor this month!
 

Vintage Cool at Work in Progress Kits - Some December Peeks

Trish has outdone herself with this month's Work in Progress kit! It features Cosmo Cricket's brand-new Circa 1934 collection and is packed with cool trinkets and treasures that will give your page a funky vintage vibe. This kit is the Cat's Pajamas! Take a look:

The Gallery will go live on December 1, but here are a few peeks at what I made this month:

I LOVE this kit! I think it's my favorite yet. You must go snatch it up before it sells out!

Here are my pages I made for Work in Progress

I just loved the March kits I got to play with as a guest designer for Work in Progress this month. Trish puts together such a fun mix of products in her kits! In my last post, I posted some detail shots.

My biggest scrappy wish is to get on a design team for a kit club, so this was a great beginning to realizing that wish!

So here are my layouts I made with the March Work in Progress kits.

So, ever since the big snowstorm, when I was buried inside my house for a week, I've been obsessed with tea. I discovered this cool site, 52 Teas, which invents a brand-new flavor every week. Really interesting flavors like coconut cream pie (my fave so far) and buttered cinnamon raisin toast. I made this page for our current challenge over at How Much Is Too Much?



It was really fun trying to figure out what stories I would tell using the products from this kit. The Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety from the March Project Kit was a perfect opportunity to scrap about my foray into growing tomatoes on my deck last summer. I just love those Jenni Bowlin banner stickers that came with the kit. I mounted them on brown cardtock and strung them on the baker's twine that came in the kit and added some brads in between the little pennants. I made the scalloped border at the top by punching circles from the "Sunday Picnic" paper and added brads between the circles.
For this page, I used a little bit from the main kit, the project kit, and the add-on. I love the doilies that Trish included in the kit. And how fun that I discovered the sticker that says "A work in progress" on my 7Gypsies "D is for Diet" sticker sheet! The leaves and flowers are from the "Strawberry Fields" paper from the Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety collection. I omitted the strawberries and added some jewels to the flower centers.

This page is a remake of a layout I did a couple of years ago. I love my journaling (even though I later discovered a typo), but I never liked the way that old page looked. The WIP kit had the perfect colors to go with this old photo of me and my sisters from back in the early 1970's. Isn't that Cosmo Cricket chipboard chick the cutest?

Finally, I made this page for Sketch This. I wound up adding a few more details to this page after I sent it to Janelle. I just love the new Birds on a Wire edge punch by Martha Stewart.

Poser

I was looking through some photos a couple of weeks ago and started noticing a trend. I have so many pictures of Farzad hamming it up in front of the camera. Just silly poses. Give him a prop, and he's eager to pose.

So I came up with a new album idea. I'm either going to call the album Poser or Gotta Give Him Props.

Here are the first two layouts for that book. I made this page for the How Much Is Too Much? blog. On this particular occasion, I asked him to pose nice for the camera in front of that pretty tree. This is what I got instead. It's about the only time I can get him to eat his vegetables!



We were at a candy store in Ocean City, and there were so many fun colors that I wanted to snap a picture of him in there. As I was readying my camera, he grabbed Grover to pose with him. I made this page for the Sketch This! blog.