Tag, I'm It!

A few months ago, I was looking for some inspiration over at pagemaps.com (http://www.pagemaps.com/) when I noticed that the talented Becky Fleck was also looking for something. She put a call out to scrappers to contribute samples based on her sketches. If picked, your work is included in her monthly newsletter alongside her beautiful sketches. Of course I threw my name into the hat. And, to my surprise, I was contacted last month and asked to create a tag. Everything had to be on the hush hush and I couldn't post a picture of my project until Becky published her February newsletter. Well, thanks to Super Bowl Sunday, Becky posted her newsletter a day early so, at long last, here is my tag:

Have I told you how much I love the Martha Stewart butterfly punch? In case you missed my last post about it, I double punched each butterfly. The bottom layer was glued down flat to the paper, while the top layer was only affixed in the center. I bent the wings upwards to give it a little dimension.

Make sure you visit pagemaps to see all the great sketches Becky created for February!

Ingredients:

Paper: Creating Keepsakes (cardstock and patterned paper)

Embellishments: Creating Keepsakes (rub-on letters) Queen & Company (felt border) Michael's (pearl stickers)

Ink: Signo (white)

Tools: Martha Stewart butterfly punch

At Sunset

Do you remember what paradise looked like from a few posts back? Well this is what it looked like at sunset. With the exception of one or two nights when a thunderstorm blew through (probably the remnants of Tropical Storm Faye) this layout depicts what I saw at sunset. Sal was always behind the lens of his camera, the kids were horsing around on the beach, and the sky was painted with the most beautiful colors! The pictures in this layout may not all be perfect but the memory is.

The papers are all from Basic Grey's Granola collection. Have I ever told you how much I love Basic Grey? LOL!! I cut the word "sunset" using my Cuttlebug dies. (This layout is BC -- before Cricut!) I didn't want the word "at" to have as much emphasis so I stamped it with my Technique Tuesday Endless Summer stamps. I inked the edges of the layered papers and even distressed the journaling strips for extra texture. Two of the shell die cuts and the middle paper are affixed with 3D foam squares to give the layer added dimension. (Sorry for the shadows on the picture)

Ingredients: Basic Grey paper; Deluxecuts embelishments (shells); Technique Tuesday Endless Summer stamps; Stampin' Up! ink and marker; Cuttlebug dies.

A Quick Post...

...to show a quick card I made this afternoon. I needed a sympathy card, and I needed it quick so I came up with this:

I ran the cardstock through my Cuttlebug, punched out the butterfly and stamped the sentiment. The card took me about five minutes to make, once I settled on the design. Unfortunately, I went through several designs and inked up several stamps that I didn't use. The clean-up took longer than the making the card. UGH!

Anyway, I broke open the Martha Stewart butterfly punch that Sal and the kids got me for my birthday. I think I'm going to be using that punch a lot. Note that I punched the butterfly out twice to make it two-dimensional.

Ingredients: Cardstock: Stampin' Up; Patterned Paper: Basic Grey; Stamp: Hero Arts; Ink: Stampin Up!; Bling: Michael's; Tools: Cuttlebug Leafy Branch Embossing Folder, Martha Stewart Punch.

I have a few more layouts that I need to photograph so that I can share them with you later this week. So far, 2009 has been a very scrappy year!

Another Day in Paradise

Well not quite. It barely got out of the 20's today and there was a frigid wind howling most of the day. To make matters worse, snow is on the way. So could there be a better day to scrap our trip to Marco Island? I don't think so!

Another Day in Paradise is based on Deanne Burton's Saturday Sketch at Sisterhood of Scrap. It also marks the first time I used my new Cricut (thanks Mom!). Well, almost the first time. I used it earlier in the week to cut out letters for Mark's Math Fair display board but that shouldn't count. Anyway, my Cricut is amazing. Even Mark thinks so!

Okay, drumroll please. Here's my first Cricut layout:

I used a row of tags and, with the exception of the top tag, I stamped my journaling using Technique Tuesday's Endless Summer stamp set. I have found this stamp set to be very versatile. The combinations of words are, well, endless! Here's a close-up of the journaling strip. It reads: Marco Island, Florida...August 2008; endless fun; swimming in the pool; sun; lazy days at the beach.

Ingredients: American Crafts CS; Making Memories Postcard PP; Basic Grey Cupcake PP (letter shadow); Technique Tuesday Endless Summer and Stampin' Up! Friendship Blossoms stamps; Stampin' Up! Always Artichoke Ink and Pen; Imaginisce Petal Pushers and Deluxe Cuts embellishments; Queen & Company brads; Making Memories Tiny Alphas; Cricut George and Basic Shapes Cartridge.

I'm Back...

...with a post from Christmas past. I did do a layout from this Christmas, which is something that I'm very proud of, actually, but I just didn't get the chance to take a picture of it. So after a long vacation of sleeping late and eating way too many Christmas cookies, here's my layout.

I always loved how the monuments seemed to fade into the sky while the colors of the subjects are so vibrant.

Here's a close-up of the beautiful Basic Grey paper and some of the embellishments. Can you believe that the velvet ribbon was something I got in the Dollar bin at Michael's? It matched the paper perfectly.! And the candy-striped ribbon was from my favorite local scrapbook store which went out of business in 2008. SIGH!

Oh, and about the title...it was created after many attempts with a very limited alphabet. Even with two brand new packages of these epoxy alpha stickers, I still couldn't spell out my first three titles. So, I just kept reworking it until I had one that worked for the limited number of stickers in my supply! I wish all manufacturers would think about commonly used letter when packaging alpha stickers.

If you love those snowflake brads, they are in the Clearance bin at Michael's this week. I paid full price for these but I picked up another package. Just a note, I added the rhinestone to the center.

Ingredients: Wausau Card Stock; Basic Grey Blitzen Collection; Making Memories Holly Berries; K & Company Christmas Cheer Brads; Technique Tuesday Tile; Holiday Cheer Epoxy Alpha Stickers; Imaginisce Warm Memories Rub Ons; Rhinestone Stickers; ColorBox Dark Brown Chalk ink; ribbon from my stash; Fiskars Leave It To Weaver Border Punch.