Joy {CSI Case File No. 185}

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! What a busy and fun time of the year! We're about to open our new Case File this evening, and I just realized I haven't shared my layout. Here was the Case File:

And here's my page. I made it for my mom's book. Clues I used...Evidence: stripes, dots, hearts, animals, trees, snowflakes, ribbon,  Testimony: Journal about a gift.

Here are some details. The Christmas Trees are cut files cut on my Silhouette Cameo. I used papers from a variety of companies. Not sure who all of them are by. The plaid is DCWV. The glitter circle paper is by Cosmo Cricket. The teal paper is SEI. The gray paper is by Amy Tangerine. The little silver bird is a wood veneer piece by Studio Calico, embossed with silver glittery Zing powder. I recently organized my brads by color, and I remembered I had the silver heart brad, so I added it next to the title. I have so darn much ribbon! I bought scads of it when it was all the rage, and now it just sits there looking pretty in the jars. I was happy to rescue a couple of pieces of ribbon from my ribbon jars.

The sparkly chipboard reindeer is super old too, by Li'l Davis. The vellum snowflakes are by Jolee's, and the white paper snowflakes are Silhouette cut files. I love the leafy bits--they're a punch by Martha Stewart.

Though this Case File closes tonight, we've got our last December Case File opening up this evening, so you'll still have time to play for a chance to win prizes from our December sponsors, which you can check out here.

We Used to Travel {CSI Case File No. 160}

Here's our latest Case File at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration. It's open for the entire month:

And here's my page. Clues I used...Evidence: map print, travel elements, textured paper, frames, transparent items, resin accents, decorative border, chevrons, stamps; Testimony: Journal about a trip; 3-line poem.

Here are some details.  The globe and banner for the title are Silhouette cut files. That little airplane is from an old Studio Calico paper. Striped paper is Echo Park, I think. The ticket is by My Mind's eye, and the transparent ticket is by Maya Road.

I backed the little resin frame with another ticket (sei). That numbered border tape is super old and is by Collage Press.

The pointing finger stamp is by Purple Onion Designs and points out the fact that my thoughts are on the back of the page (see journaling below). The Thoughts Dymo-tape looking sticker is really old, by Pebbles, Inc.

Driving the Coastal Highway from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Long weekend drives to Florida to visit Gram. Spur-of-the-moment road trips to New England or Niagara Falls. Flying to Paris to visit Farzad's brother. We used to travel. Since Farzad opened his own business, our days of globetrotting have slown down, except for a couple of anniversary weekends to Atlantis and Las Vegas and one road trip to Chicago to see Farzad's niece.

I have become quite a homebody these days, but I'd still fancy seeing the world beyond Maryland. I've got lots and lots of spots I still want to visit. For now, I suppose I'll have to just reminisce and wait until Farzad retires.

We've got an incredible reveal for this Case File. And we have 4 main sponsors plus our permanent sponsors. Lots of awesome prizes to win this month! Come see!

Take Off {CSI Case File No. 134}

We've got a new Case File open for investigation at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration:

Here's my page. This is my nephew and brother-in-law. Clues I used... Evidence: monsters, bird, space elements, transportation elements, metal,  stitching, circles, and darn-it I meant to add clouds but forgot! Testimony: Thank-you note.

Here are some details. Most of the stuff on here is really old.  I love the Sassassfras Lass Monstrosity paper so much that I searched all over the internet when I thought I was going to run out and paid a small fortune for what might have been the last pad of paper on earth just to get two sheets of the monsters. I added Glossy Accents to his eyes  to make them glossy and dimensional. The background was made with a Crafter's Workshop stencil and texture paste mixed with acrylic paint. That stamp is by We R Memory Keepers--I used embossing powder (sorry for the glare). That clip is by Evalicious. The blue grid paper is by Scenic Route.

The numbers in the sketch were a perfect element for this page. I used them as a sort of countdown to take-off. I couldn't make the pictures round, so I added the twine to frame my nephew and add a circle element.The yellow paper is by SEI and the orange ruler paper is by Crate Paper. The stars paper is My Mind's Eye.

The rocket die-cut is by Crate Paper. I added Glossy Accents to the rocket windows. The little chicken is sort of out of place, but the colors were perfect and I needed a bird for one of the clues, and it's sort of a fun and silly page, so I went with it. I was so irritated at myself for outlining my letters from right to left. I didn't realize I was smearing the ink on the e. Grrrr.... The dark blue sketchy paper is really old Autumn Leaves and the light blue with the dots is SEI.

The Let's Go Stamp is from that same We R Memory Keepers set. The arrow was cut out of an Echo Park paper. I decided not to trim the ends of my stitching off because I thought it gave my page some fun texture.

I hope you'll come join us for this fun Case File and definitely come check out what the rest of the team and guest designers made. Quirky Kits is sponsoring us this month, and if you play, you have a chance to win this awesome prize:

Patriotic {CSI Case File No. 130}

Here's our current challenge at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration, which opened for investigation on the 4th of July, so I had to make a patriotic Case File:

I made another page for my mom's book. For those who don't know, my stepdad died in December, so I'm making a book for my mom. I'm journaling from his point of view and tucking the stories into an envelope pasted on the back of the page. I haven't yet done the journaling for this page, but it's going to be about how Ed really loved our country.

Clues I used...Evidence: stars, stripes, metal, circles, bird, paint, splatters, swirls. Testimony: Journal on strips, patriotic holiday.

I used one of Em Stafrace's awesome Page Drafts sketches to make my page:

Here are some closeups. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the flourishy star and leaves. I was planning to have the star be white, but after I used that sparkly brad in the flower, I thought it would be fun to use glitter on the star.

I have reorganized my patterned paper by color. For over a decade, I've stored it by manufacturer and collection. I can't tell you how much I love this new organization. I organized all my scraps by color, too, and this layout was made entirely from scraps (except for the white cardstock).

The wood stars and birds are Studio Calico wood veneers, painted red. I used a stamp for my splatters. Most of my papers are really old, I've used some Scenic Route and SEI. The red stripe, polka dot, and bingo card are newer, by Simple Stories. I've had that felt flower forever, too, by Creative Cafe.

5-Year Promise {CSI Case File No. 118}

I thought with spring break I'd be able to get back on track, but the week has flown by and it didn't happen. I did get a lot accomplished, but my to-do list was very, very long.

Anyway, Case File No. 118 is still open through the weekend at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration.

I was planning to do something about my "style." But Tracee had the idea to scrap about a book we both recently bought, Q&A a Day: 5 Year Journal. Her page got picked up for publication in Scrap365, so you'll have to wait to see hers! So here's mine.

Clues I used...Evidence: white background, jewels, hearts, pen work, fibers; Testimony: Magnetic Poetry.

Here are some details.I used papers from a bunch of different manufacturers here: My Mind's Eye (teal stripe); Dear Lizzy (Tickets, green triangle, orange bit); Heidi swapp (yellow); Echo Park (red). The speech bubbles were cut on my Silhouette Cameo. I've had that little Trust charm forever and popped a little gem on it.

The little wooden people icons are from Studio Calico. We got the photo online. We were surprised there were a whole bunch of pictures people had taken of this little book. We loved this one because of the heart bokeh and the cuppa.

The sparkly frame is ancient--by K&Co., and that red brad, by SEI, is also really old. I was looking for a label or something as another layer and came across this calendar card in the perfect color and it went perfectly with my story. I took a screen shot of my magnetic poem and then printed it out and cut it apart. 

Love This {CSI Case File No. 111}

When I make up the Case Files, occasionally I ask myself "What Was I thinking?" This was the case with this week's Case File. I wasn't sure I was going to have a very easy time with this palette.

But Tracee and I found the perfect picture to go with this palette, and I wound up loving it! We worked with the same PageDrafts sketch:

Even though we both used the same colors, pictures, sketch, and clues, our pages came out so different.

Here's my page:

and Tracee's page:

Clues I used...Evidence: polka dots, drips, animal accents, wood, stickers, border punch, sprinkles, 3 of something, cone shapes. Testimony: Inspo words--giggle, friends, enjoy.

Here are some details. I dug out some ANCIENT papers for this one. The text paper is by Dream Street. The orange polka dots, multi-colored dots, stripes, and harlequin papaers are by Making Memories. The background paper is by Echo Park, as is the crossword paper.

I used lots of different stamps in the background, including some bu American Crafts, Evalicious, Teresa Collins, and Kaiser Craft. The circles in the background were made with texture paste mixed with acrylic paint and a stencil by The Crafter's Workshop.

So, I was layering everything and felt like it was going okay, but then I had do do the background stuff. I picked up the layers and had to arrange them again. Then I decided to add more stuff in the background, so I picked up the layers. After doing this umpteen times, I was so annoyed that I decided to just staple the papers down once I got them arranged again. I wished I could use my Tiny Attacher, but it doesn't have a long enough reach, so I settled for gold staples.

The title was made with my Silhouette Cameo. I used some old Fontwerks labels on my page.

My journaling is on the back because of course I didn't have enough space after cramming all that junk on my page. Here's what it says:

I'm so privileged to have this special friendship with Tracee. I adore this picture. It perfectly captures how much fun we have together, laughing our bums off over just about everything. Our time together was one huge giggle fest, and it was awesome being with a friend that made me feel like a kid, even though we're both pushing fifty at the time. Neither one of us can remember exactly why we were laughing so hard that our faces turned bright red and I almost peed myself, but this picture epitomizes why I enjoy her company so much.

Invisible {CSI Case File No. 110}

I've gotten a little behind in my blog posts again. Busy week. I was happy to work with this Case File, which features one of Em Stafrace's fabulous sketches:

I took the opportunity to scrap some pictures my husband took with his iPhone of Miss Maisey. She has this habit of peeking around corners through windows and such.

Clues I used...Evidence: solid background, something sheer, jewels; Testimony: Journal about a pet, from a pet's point of view.

Here are some details. I did the journaling on the speech bubbles with the sketch pens on my Silhouette Cameo. Super easy to do! I'll definitely be doing this again. The transparent tickets are by Maya Road. That awesome chipboard filmstrip is by 2Crafty. I embossed it with copper colored powder. I used a text stamp with white ink in the background.

I used a bunch of different papers, by BasicGrey and My Mind's Eye. I love this picture of Miss Maisey peeking out the door when Farzad when out at night. So cute! Brads are by BasicGrey and Crate Paper.

The circles in the background were created with texture paste mixed with paint and a stencil by The Crafter's Workshop. I splattered a few different colors of mist. So happy to use some Heidi Swapp chipboard letters. I have a confession: I have about a 2.5 foot stack of Heidi Swapp chipboard letters. I bought up a ton of them in every color and style when those were pretty much the only chipboard letters available--it was in the days before Thickers.

It's always so cool to see how the same sketch, colors, and clues yield so many different results. Come see what the rest of the team and our guest designers made here.

Gingerbread*ol*ogy {CSI Case File No. 103}

Just posting my closeups for Case File No. 103.

Here's my layout, which I had doubled up with the Page Drafts Christmas Release. That's little Ezra in her not-yet-finished gingerbread outfit, but she looked so cute in these pictures, I had to go ahead and scrap them.

Clues I used: Evidence: bird, stars, circles, distressing, paint, metal, twigs/greenery, transparent accents (vellum); Testimony:  ___*ol*ogy, journal about a winter holiday.

For some reason, these colors didn't want to photograph correctly, but anyway, here are some details.

My journaling, across the top, in the gray of the palette, reads: {gingerbread*ol*ogy}...The art and science of looking cookie-cute. This special cuteness is achieved by dressing in the most adorable gingerbread outfit made by Aunt LuAnn, having rosy cheeks and nose, and the best smile ever!

The ornaments were cut on my Silhouette Cameo, and I jazzed them up with glitter and pearls.

I used texture paste mixed with white paint and a stencil for the stars and then sprinkled diamond glitter over them. The stars are really sparkly, but it doesn't show up well in the pictures.  Love the twiggy branches, which are a Martha Stewart punch. The peppermint candy circles are from an old BasicGrey paper (Figgy Pudding collection). 

Love these tiny glittery letter stickers, which also don't photograph well, but they're really cute, by Making Memories. 

Since we took a week off for Christmas vacation, I extended the deadline on this Case File, so come play with us, if you haven't had a chance to solve this one--a perfect opportunity to scrap some Christmas pictures!