1st Harvest {CSI Case File No. 203}

We have a fun new Case File open for investigation at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration:

Here's the page I made:

Clues I used...Evidence: all of the clues; Testimony: childhood memory, 6-word memoir, Scene inspiration.

I used a sketch from Creative Scrappers:

Here are some details. I used all kinds of old papers on my page, including Ki Memories (blue) and Chatterbox (yellow). The orange polka dot is K&Co. The yellow in the background is Echo Park. I cut the little house and the leaves from some We R Memory Keepers papers. I was determined to use all the clues, and I was stuck on how to fit a transportation element into my page, and then I remembered I had a sticker with a tractor! That chipboard frame is by Crate Paper.

I've had this Cosmo Cricket watering can forever. I was happy the colors worked out for my page. I added a puffy heart to it. The little wood veneer bird is by Studio Calico.

Here's another fun puffy sticker, and he's holding a vegetable--also a clue for the Case File. That little speech bubble was cut out of a patterned paper, and I added rub-on letters for part of my title.

That wood-veneer star-shape reminded me of a sun. The little garden spade is from that same Cosmo Cricket chipboard sheet as the watering can, and I was able to get a string onto the handle for another clue.

This was a really fun Case File to play with. I hope you'll play along. We've got ten awesome sponsors donating prizes this month:

Creative Scrappers Creating With Sketches V3

I'm super excited to share that I've got a layout in the brand-new Creative Scrappers Creating With Sketches V3 book.

I've had a peek at this book, and it's fantastic. So many talented scrappers in here, along with 120 fab sketches! Here's the page I contributed to this book:

If you'd like to purchase this book, you can get a 10% discount by using my coupon code:

 V3Debbi

It's currently available for purchase in digital format for 10$ 

The Printed Version is also available for sale 18$ plus shipping 

( preorder is until October 15th - please order if you wish a printed copy )

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE 

Here are some detail pics of my page:

Please remember to use my coupon code if you decide to purchase this: 

V3Debbi

The Lesson for Today {CSI Case File No. 137}

Eek! I am so far behind with my blog posts!

Yesterday we opened a new Case File:

I made a page commemorating my first time going to my church.

Clues I used...Evidence: polka dots, stripes, washi tape, envelopes, metal, flourishes, labels, wood; Testimony: Journal about your attitude, tuck your story into an envelope.

I used this sketch from Creative Scrappers:

Here are some details. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the circles in my cardstock and backed them with various patterned papers. I loved the sketch, but when I got my basic design assembled, it all seemed to look flat, so I used this awesome clock by 2Crafty chipboard, which turned out to be the perfect thing. The "Today" in my title is also by 2Crafty. I used acrylic paint on both pieces of chipboard. That ruler bit on the orange paper is an old 7 gypsies rub-on. The letter stickers are by Lily Bee (white) and Cosmo Cricket (yellow).

The little black bird is a wood veneer piece by Studio Calico that I painted with acrylic paint. I tucked my journaling into the yellow polka-dotted envelope. As a bit of background, I was raised pretty much without any religion. We went to Catholic church for a bit as I was growing up, but it never held any meaning for me, and as an adult, I never went to church. My mom started going to church about 6 years ago, and last year, her birthday was to fall on a Sunday. Months ahead of this, she said, "I don't want any presents for my birthday this year. All I want is for my family to go to church with me on my birthday." I replied, "Well, if it means that much to you, I'll go--we don't have to wait until December.

So here's my journaling... (By the way, that New Attitude image, is from these cards our church hands out at the start of a new message series, and that was the series that was starting on my first visit). If you aren't a Christian, you should give my pastor a try. You can see/hear his messages here. He's awesome and very inspiring and it will change your life.

I never ever expected this day to be the most important day of my life. I didn't expect to go into this church and fall in love with the message. I didn't expect to go in and find a church that was nothing like I ever knew or imagined it could be. I didn't expect to go from die-hard agnostic to Christian in an instant. I never expected that I would want to go buy a bible so that I could read God's Word. I never expected any of these beautiful, life-changing effects, but I am forever grateful that Mom invited me to this amazing church.

You might have read that I reorganized my paper at the beginning of summer, and since then, I've been making my pages using old scraps.  Some of the papers shown below are Jenni Bowlin (text), October Afternoon (yellow), Fontwerks (orange in the bottom right corner), Crate Paper (gray), Ki Memories (pink), My Mind's Eye (orange chevron-y pattern).

You should come by CSI and take a look at what our DT and guest designers made--lots of inspiring stuff, and this is the last Case File for your chance to win this awesome prize from Quirky Kits:

A Shore Thing

I'm still alive! The end of the school year is always a super-busy, exhausting time. Now that I'm on summer break, I'm hoping I'll be able to start getting more current with my blog posts.

Here's my layout from the Case File before last:

I love these colors! They screamed summer and beach to me, so I made another page for my husband's niece and her husband.  I immediately thought of the old Scenic Route papers for these colors.

Clues I used... Evidence: chevrons, polka dots, ampersand, transparent items, crystals, something sweet, flourish; Testimony: stack your spots (I stacked word stickers).

I used this fun Creative Scrappers sketch:

Here are some details. That yellow sunburst was cut out with my Silhouette Cameo. The orange-framed transparency is an old My Mind's Eye transparent frame cut in half.

The chipboard letters are by BasicGrey. There's my crystal brad, which was one of the clues. I cut the waves out with my Silhouette Cameo.

Here's a peek at a couple other elements, which show some more of the clues I used--the chevron brad and the flourish brad that I thought looks like a wave (which went lopsided when I was photographing). The word stickers are by K&Co, and the arrows were cut out of one of the Scenic Route Papers from the Metropolis collection I used. That ampersand was sitting on my desk, leftover from another layout I did a few weeks ago.

This Case File just closed over the weekend, but you must go see what the DT and guest designers did with these colors, and the members have been making some awesome pages too!

Happy Mess {CSI Case File No. 108}

Case File No. 108 is open for investigation at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration.

I'm back with another installment of Tracee and Debbi's Excellent Adventures. Tracee and I made a page this week using the same Case File, the same Creative Scrappers sketch, and the same picture. Tracee's page is far better than mine, but I enjoyed making the page and remembering our times in my scrap room. 

Clues I used...Evidence: mixed media background, bird, newsprint, music element, hearts, flowers, border punch, rub-ons, stamps, and pen work--all of them! Testimony: Journaling strips, document about art.

Here's the sketch I used:

I've got no close-ups this week because the weather has been crummy. There's snow all over my deck. Sigh. Ready for spring to come!

Will & Power {CSI Case File No. 106}

We have a gorgeous Case File this week at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration.

Unfortunately, it looks like my colors are a fail. Really, they look closer to the palette in real life, but I also think that my printer is running out of yellow ink because my papers really did match the swatch I printed out.

Clues I used: Evidence: arrows, gold, cloud, grid design, speech bubble, quote sticker, numbers, circles, stripes, white background; Testimony: Write about resolutions.

Anyway, January 17 (the day this Case File is being opened) is Ditch New Years Resolutions Day, so I decided to document a resolution I'm in the process of planning. I almost didn't go public with this resolution on a scrapbook page because it's one I've made over and over. I've struggled with my weight for decades and just about every year, I set out, resolved to lose weight for good, and I fail. I've got a different plan, which I will share below.

Anyway, here's my page:

I used the current sketch from Creative Scrappers.

Before I share my closeups, I wanted to share my journaling because the details on my page reflect the story. My journaling reads: 

___________________________________________________________

Willpower. It's an elusive idea. The dictionary defines willpower as "the ability to control one's impulses and actions." Another source says it's "the strength of will to carry out one's decisions, wishes, or plans." I read those definitions and they seem to define me in just about every area of my life. Except when it comes to food. 

I've tried and tried to lose weight over the years, and I know I just cannot do it alone. I have the will, but the power just seems out of my reach. Until now.

This summer I began my walk with Christ, and I am learning to hand things over to him. I recently found a book called The Daniel Plan, and this book combines a weight-loss/get healthy plan with faith and prayer. I've had a lot of stresses this past month, so rather than jumping head first into this, I'm planning and reading and praying. I will embark on this plan very, very soon, and with my will and God's power, I have faith that I can finally get control of my life this time.

______________________________________________________

Here are some details. I try always to put meaningful details on my page, and I think I did an extra good job with this on this page. The image on the brad is a blueprint--the plan I'm working on is like a blueprint. 

I used a photo from two years ago when I had lost 60 pounds and was happy with the way I was starting to look. I'm not so happy with the way I'm looking these days, so I've been hiding from the camera. I chose the word sticker because salt and pepper work together, and it's a food-related phrase, coupled with lots of references to salt in the Bible.

I used this cloud paper to represent the Heavenly Father, who is going to give me the power to do this.

I used the cogs and gears to represent the hard work this is going to take, but with my will and the power and love of my God (represented the little heart), we will do this together. I found some red paper with words on it and cut out parts that showed meaningful words.

The chipboard gears are by 2Crafty. I painted the red and blue ones and then embossed with clear embossing powder. I had also painted the third one, but when I heat embossed it, for some reason, it turned bright orange, so I coated it again with embossing ink and this time sprinkled gold Ziong embossing powder, which perfectly matches the title letters. I actually like it better gold than I would've if it had been pink.

The speech bubble is also by 2Crafty. The flair points the way to the journaling, represented by the little typewriter. I used the brad with the dates because I know this is going to take lots of time to accomplish my goal.

So that's the story of my page. You need to pop over to CSI and see the gorgeous stuff by our design team and guest designers. I hope you'll give this Case File a whirl!

Just Because {Creative Scrappers Book!}

Have you heard? Kristine Davidson just published another eBook with her fabulous Creative Scrappers sketches! The book has 60 pages, 56 designers and 125 brand-new sketches and is full of wonderful inspiration. The eBook is available now, and the printed book is available for preorder.

I am fortunate to be a part of this awesome publication. Here is my page. I usually like to scrap stories, but when I was looking for a picture, I came across this one of Farzad...it's one of my favorite pictures, and it's going into an album of favorite photos.

Here are some details.I used a combination of BasicGrey and My Mind's Eye papers on this page, as well as Echo Park (the viewmaster reels). That little love flag is an old Pebbles tag sticker that I cut into a flag shape. I used a Crafter's Workshop template and texture paste to make the diamonds.

Some hand-cut hearts...

The arrows were cut with my Silhouette Cameo and mounted on pop dots.

A little Studio Calico wooden arrow.

I always admired how Lilith Eeckels uses the lose thread on her pages, and I thought I'd give it a try. The scalloped border was made with an EK Success border punch.

Now for something special for you...Kristine has generously given us a promo code to give to friends!  Go to the Creative Scrappers Store  to order your e-book, and enter in code: CWS2Discount  and you will receive $2.00 off of the cost of the book! Tell Kristine that Debbi sent you.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and reading about my page!