You + Me Equals Happy {Sketchbook365 July Sketch}

We have another fabulous sketch up at Sketchbook365, based on a layout by Sheena Rowlands.

I made a page for Monica using some sweet photos of her and Ezra. Ezra is such a smiley, happy baby and brings Monica great happiness!

This month, BasicGrey kindly sent the design team collection packs from their latest designs. I chose Knee Highs, so most of what you see on my page is from that collection pack.

Here are a few details. The black element is a frame I cut out with my Silhouette Cameo. That little clip is an old Making Memories bit. I used a template from The Crafter's Workhsop for the background.

The pink arrow sticker came in the collection pack. I used some rub-on letters by Headline to add the word "equals" and stuck on a bit of washi tape for added texture.

You'll have to pop over to see what the rest of the design team made with this awesome sketch and play along for your chance to win some of these fabulous new BasicGrey collections!

Sweet Dream {Sketchbook365}

A new sketch is up at Sketchbook365, and I'm particularly excited about that because it's my first reveal as a member of the Sketchbook365 design team! Here's the sketch, which was based on a layout by Birgit Koopsen:

Here's my page. I flipped the sketch upside down. I used Monica's sweet baby Ezra as the subject of my page. That little baby is ALWAYS smiling!

Here are some details. I used my Silhouette to cut out this lily pad. The papers I used for most of this are American Crafts Dear Lizzy. The background is by My Mind's Eye. That lovely lacy border is a die by Cheery Lynn Designs. And don't you hate it when you see a flaw after your page has gone public--I wish I had moved that lilypad a few centimeters to the right--looks like the border is missing. Sigh.

 Those rub-on flowers are supposed to be white, but they're showing up more of a cream. I added some sparkly brads--the small one is by Doodlebug and the big cabochon sparkly flower is by Pebbles. The smaller cabochon is by Webster's Pages.

Sweet sparkly letters are Thickers. I added some pearls to replace the arrows in the sketch. Here you can see I added some vellum with delicate dots. That pink paper between the floral paper and vellum is really old  Autumn Leaves paper.

I adore Brian Andreas, and I thought this quote was perfect for this page. Monica and James had tried to have a baby many times before James died, and Ezra was their little miracle. She was conceived two months before he died, and it was such a blessing that he found out about the baby and was able to name her (they didn't know at the time that Ezra was going to be a girl).

You must go check out the awesome work by the rest of the team. Really gorgeous reveal!

It's Good to Be Goofy {Creative Scrappers Sketch #232}

It's Sunday, so that means we have a new sketch over at Creative Scrappers! Sadly, it's the last sketch of my term on the design team. These few months have flown by. I just love the Creative Scrappers sketches, and it was great fun working with all the talented ladies over there. I hope to apply again next summer, when I have more scrappy time during my summer break. This week's sketch, by Johanna Rol-Middelbos, is so fun and whimsical:

I made another page for Monica's book. If you know Monica's story, skip ahead. If not, read on. Monica is my best friend's daughter.  Her 23-year-old husband just died in July after a 6-year battle with bone cancer. Monica and James have thousands of photos on their Facebook pages, and I've been grabbing them from there to make Monica a book so she'll remember the many happy memories in their short life together. 

Here are some closeups. I dug out some really old BasicGrey--Skate Shoppe collection--for this page, and it was  the perfect choice for these playful photos and this playful sketch. I originally had a solid piece of that chartreuse paper, but felt it needed a little something extra, so I used a border punch and layered them for some fun texture. I thought those googly eyes would be the perfect thing for my title to add to the playfulness of the page.

After I adhered all my circles, some with pop dots, I felt my page still needed something more, so I added some metal dots and tiny googly eyes and then outlined all my circles with a fine-line pen.

Lots of fantastic pages from the rest of the team--come see! I always love seeing how everyone interprets the sketch. I went pretty literal this week.

Thank you for stopping by my blog and reading about my page!

Viva Las Vegas {Creative Scrappers Sketch #230}

We have another terrific sketch by Jenny Evans this week at Creative Scrappers:

I made another page for Monica's book. If you know Monica's story, skip ahead. If not, read on. Monica is my best friend's daughter.  Her 23-year-old husband just died in July after a 6-year battle with bone cancer. Monica and James have thousands of photos on their Facebook pages, and I've been grabbing them from there to make Monica a book so she'll remember the many happy memories in their short life together. 

I had overcast skies, so sorry that my picture isn't that great. I used a lot of scraps that were on my scrap table leftover from some previous layouts to make my page.

Here are some details. My background paper is by My Mind's Eye. That striped red paper is really old 7 Gypsies. I think the number paper might also be 7 Gypsies. Not 100% sure because I only have bits and pieces of it--this was a little scrap that was sitting on my desk. The little monsters are from Sassafras Lass. How I love those little monsters, and I've been so sad because my supply of them has been dwindling and they no longer make the paper. I looked and looked for that paper and found it somewhere, but you had to buy the whole paper pad. I finally bit the bullet and ordered it and it came in the mail the other day.

Thanks, Tracee, for the idea of adding some pennants to my twine. I put them on a little haphazardly to emphasize the playful feeling I was going for. The 25cent paper is also by Sassafras Lass, as are the arrows. You can see I used BasicGrey paper, along with a Hambly transparency (these were also scraps sitting on my desk.

The red circles are from a Sassafras Lass paper. The game spinner is by Tim Holtz. The vellum were scraps from my desk--a few had stars punched out of them from the last layout I made for Creative Scrappers.

That stamp is one of those word ones that have the handle that twists and new words appear. I just stamped the same word several times. Thanks, Tracee, again, for the suggestion of tucking some stars behind the stitched-on vellum. These are wood veneer stars by Studion Calico.

Here's another goofy Sass monster. The bingo card is Jenni Bowlin. The red polka dots are by Jillibean Soup. I thought that blue vellum was perfect to go with the blue in the Vegas sign.

As always, there are lots of fantastic pages by the team--go check them out here.

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

Tiny Miracle {CSI Case File No. 41}

Case File No. 41 is open for investigation at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration.

I made another page for Monica. I'm not sure if I ever told you this, but Monica is pregnant with James's baby. For those who don't know Monica's story, you'll want to read about why this is so exciting and such a miracle.

Monica is my best friend's daughter. Her husband was diagnosed with osteosarcoma when he was 17. They were married for six short years before James died at the age of 23 this past July. They had been trying to have a baby but were unsuccessful for several years. Two months before James died, they got pregnant.

James got to name the baby the day before he died. At the time they didn't know the gender, so Monica and James's little girl is going to have a boy's name: Ezra James. The name came from a song that James knew Monica always loved--"A Lifetime' by Better Than Ezra. In the song, a girl died in a car crash, and her boyfriend went to the wake and stole her ashes to sprinkle in the ocean.

Such a sad and beautiful story.

Such a sweet, tiny miracle.

I grabbed the sonogram photo of Ezra tiny inside her mommy, from a month or two ago, off of Monica's facebook page and made this layout.

Clues I used...Evidence: gold elements, tassel, layers, ombre, white-on-white textured element; Testimony: Inspiration Word: dream (I'm going to let Monica do journaling for her book).

I used this sketch by Michele Singh, who's on my CSI design team and has so-so many talents:

Here are a few details. The papers are from Teresa Collins's Tell Your Story collection.  The roses are by Recollections. That layered round flower is by K&Co. It's pretty old. I cut the little tassel out of this week's CSI Coordinates. The gold charm is form Michael's, and the resin pieces are by Melissa Francis. That big fabric brad is by Heidi Grace.

The only paper on my page that isn't by Teresa Collins is that green layer you can see in the next photo--It's by Autumn Leaves (Foofala)--really old. I lace in between the layers.

The butterflies were cut out of one of the Teresa Collins papers, and I added Cheery Lynn die-cut butterflies on top, along with some pearls. The sparkly letters are Thickers, and the smaller letter stickers are by October Afternoon, inked and mounted on pop dots. The ticket is from one of the Teresa Collins patterned papers. 

I found this sweet little ribbon rose in my stash, seeming to be waiting just for this layout.

As always, our design team and guest designers made some gorgeous layouts this week, so come take a peek and play with us! We have three sponsors this month--Scraps of Elegance, Flying Unicorn, and Scrapbook Fantasies.

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

You Make Me So Very Happy {CSI Case File No. 40}

We've got a new Case File open for investigation at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration. Lots of new stuff for a new month, new guest designers, new sponsors, and a new theme. In honor of the treats of October, our theme is all things sweet.

I made another page for Monica's book. If you know Monica's story, skip ahead. If not, read on. Monica is my best friend's daughter.  Her 23-year-old husband just died in July after a 6-year battle with bone cancer. Monica and James have thousands of photos on their Facebook pages, and I've been grabbing them from there to make Monica a book so she'll remember the many happy memories in their short life together. 

Clues I used from the Case File: Evidence: ribbon, scallops, dots & stripes, circular things, banners, a big flower, transparent stuff, numbers; Testimony: Inspiration word - happy, 9 happy things.

(Pardon the bad picture. Gray skies all week.)

Here are some details. "The Happy List Card" is in this week's CSI Coordinates. I tucked it behind the photo strip so Monica could do her own journaling. I printed the Coordinates on Photo paper this week because I wanted to retain the bright colors. That glittery circular element is cut from an old K&Co paper. I've got lots of "oldies but goodies" on my page, as always, mixed in with a couple of new things, like the hexagon paper which is by My Mind's Eye. The green background paper is the B side of an old Fancy Pants paper from a collection I was gifted but didn't really like. The color was perfect for the Case File.

Some ribbon for the ribbon part of the Evidence. There's some old Hambly for the transparency part of the challenge.

Aren't these polka dot banners fun--they're in the Coordinates as are all these fun phrases which are perect with Monica's hoto.

The scallop border is by K& Co. I added a yellow Colorbok  "metal dot" heart to my title. These are such fun little accents, and I always pick up a pack when I see them. Mostly I find them at Jo-Ann's.

The scallop die cut is by Die-Namics. I thought it went well with that scalloped border on the opposite side. The "Shiny Happy People" is in the Coordinates and I popped it on top of an old felt Creative Cafe flower that's been in my stash forever. I love that black stripe paper by BasicGrey. Note to self: Buy a couple more sheets of that.

The reveal is gorgeous. You must go check it out! We have a new team of Special Investigators, and Scraps of Elegance is sponsoring us this month, so their team has joined us as Guest Detectives. 

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and reading about my page! And thanks in advance for any comments you may leave. They always make me smile big!

Two Cool (Creative Scrappers Sketch #228)

Sketch 228 is live at Creative Scrappers!

I made another page for Monica's book.  If you know Monica's story, skip ahead. If not, read on. Monica is my best friend's daughter.  Her 23-year-old husband just died in July after a 6-year battle with bone cancer. Monica and James have thousands of photos on their Facebook pages, and I've been grabbing them from there to make Monica a book so she'll remember the many happy memories in their short life together. 

I thought these pictures of Monica and James are so cute. Thanks to my good friend Tracee Provis for helping me figure out the title. I went pretty literal with the sketch.

Here are some details.I love these tiny letters by Lily Bee. So cute! The little scallopy bit is from a pack of old Doodlebug Frills.

The yellow polka dot paper is by My Mind's Eye. Polka dots make me happy. :) The chipboard pieces are by Sassafras Lass. I miss Sass.

I've been trying to use vellum lately. I have SO darn much of that stuff from when it was popular back in the day. I rescued an old Pebbles Dymo-style sticker from my stash. 

The paper is "vintage" 7 Gypsies. One of my all-time favorite papers. It's so old that it's 8.5 x 11. I only have a couple of sheets of this left. The little metal word bit is also old, by K&Co, Life's Journey collection.

I loved seeing how the rest of the design team interpreted this sketch--so many creative things to do with this sketch. Go see here! I hope you'll play along with us--a prize from Moments of Tranquility is up for grabs!

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

Paint War {Creative Scrappers Sketch #226}

A new sketch has been revealed at Creative Scrappers! It's a really cool one:

I made another page for Monica's book. If you know Monica's story, skip ahead. If not, read on. Monica is my best friend's daughter.  Her 23-year-old husband just died in July after a 6 year battle with bone cancer. Monica and James have thousands of photos on their Facebook pages, and I've been grabbing them from there to make Monica a book so she'll remember the many happy memories in their short life together. 

I found these photos of Monica and James when they went to play paintball that I thought had the right vibe for that sketch, and I was so happy when I thought of using my old BasicGrey Obscure papers. My page really is straight in real life. Not sure why it's looking so crooked.

Here are some details. I was so tickled to figure out how to make these paint splats. I used an old tinted walnut ink dauber and just banged it on the paper and it made these cool splotches!

I mounted my chevron arrows on pop dots. I used some really old brads that I've had in my stash from back when brads started appearing on layouts in Creating Keepsakes magazine, and I bought them at the office supply store.

I crumpled some old plain vellum and added that as a layer and at the last minute decided to add a bit of the tear strip to my page. I grunged it up a little. The black border peeking out at the bottom is a Stampin' Up notebook paper border punch. I have just the edge of it showing.

I tucked a little strip of one of the Obscure patterned papers with some edgy-looking numbers and also an ancient Pebbles word sticker. Everything on my page is super-old. I love using old stuff!

Lots of awesome layouts by the rest of the team. You'll have to go over and take a peek. I hope you'll play along. This was a fun sketch!

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