CR84FN Challenge & A Winner

Hellooooo! Is anybody here? That's probably what you have been wondering. It has been a whirlwind this past month. Since I wrote my last blog post, I have experienced an earthquake (a rarity in New York); prepared for Hurricane Irene; spent hours on the phone (mostly on hold!) rearranging our travel plans because of said hurricane; went on a wonderful 7-day cruise to the Western Caribbean; had said cruise turn into a 9-day cruise because of Tropical Storm Lee; and missed the first day of school because 7-day cruise was now a 9-day cruise. You get the point. It seems like we jumped off the high board into the deep end of the pool this September. There was no time to gradually get back into the swing of things so blogging has taken a back seat. It's taken a month, though, but I think I can come up for air! So finally, I have a project to share.

Today's card uses the colors from the CR84FN38 challenge.

Here's my card:

My sister is a francophile and her home pays homage to her love of all things French. There are Eiffel Towers everywhere. (She even has a purse shaped like an Eiffel Tower!) She loves Paris as much as I love scrapbooking and if I tell her that I am going to Paris this weekend, she knows that I am scrapping! On a recent visit to her home, Melissa and my niece, Sarah, went from room to room and counted more than 75. It was their own version of Where's Waldo! So, you can understand why I hoard any papers or embellishments that picture the Eiffel Tower to use on her birthday card each year. The paper on this card was from Echo Park's 2010 Be Mine collection. (Yes, I've been saving the paper for that long!)

To create the card, I cut a piece of Papertrey Ink Smokey Shadow cardstock to a standard size. I cut the white cardstock 1/2-inch smaller on each side so that the finished card would have a 1/4-inch border. Next, I cut a piece of patterned paper 1/4-inch smaller and stamped a background image on it. For the focal point, I matted the journaling card onto a piece of Smokey Shadow cardstock. I used Distress Stickles to add some bling to the Eiffel Tower as well as the ornate trim along the top of the card. Finally, I stamped the "Happy Birthday" sentiment, added a row of pearls to the top of the mat, adhered it to the card using foam dimensional adhesive and added a ribbon from my stash. Here's a closer look:

Now for some unfinished business.... Last month, I participated in the August Sketch Blog Hop and I offered a little blog candy for those who left a comment and became followers. At last, I have a winner. Drum roll please! The winner is:

True Random Number

Generator

Min: Max:

Result:

12Powered by RANDOM.ORG\

That means the winner is photochic!

photochic said...

I LOVE the paper! So cute! Great layout.

Please e-mail me with your name and address so that I can get your prize to you. I will be putting in an extra goodie or two to thank you for your patience!

Supplies

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Stamper's Select White; Smokey Shadow);

Patterned Paper: Making Memories (Sabrina); Echo Park (Be Mine);

Stamps: Hero Arts (Classic Fabric Design); Papertrey Ink (Birthday Basics);

Ink: Stampin' UP! (Basic Grey); Ranger (Black);

Embelishments: Pearl Stickers (Recollection) Stickles (Diamond); Ribbon from stash.

August Sketch Blog Hop and Blog Candy

Welcome to the August Sketch Blog Hop! A few of us on the CK Forum (23 to be exact!) are sharing projects based on the wonderful sketch created by Amanda. I am sure it will be a lot of fun to see what everyone has done with the same sketch. If you did not arrive here from Mandi's blog, please return to Amanda's blog to follow the hop in order. Okay, so let's get started! Here's the sketch:

And here's my layout:

When I saw the cluster of photographs in the middle, I knew that I wanted the look of Polaroids on my page. I have been loving the look of the projects created with the Lawn Fawn Polaroid stamp from the Say Cheese set. Since I don't have the set, I decided to try my hand at making my own Polaroids with white and black cardstock. I was really happy with my faux Polaroids!

As you can see, I stretched the sketch a little. I usually try to make sketches my own. In stretching the sketch, I switched out the title block for an embellishment and moved the title down to the bottom of the page. As a result, I clustered the photos and journaling on the right to add balance and interest to my page.

Thanks to Nichol Magouirk, I have been so inspired to stamp on my layouts and this one is no exception. In addition to stamping on the faux Polaroid, I stamped the "On the Road" sentiment on the blue strip as well as the roadway under the cars. One other thing I would like to draw your eye to is my title. It's no secret that I love Thickers. However, since the Basic Grey collection pack came with stickers, I felt compelled to use them. To get the dimension of Thickers, I stacked my stickers two high. Lucky for me it was a short title and I had enough letters! Here's a closer look:

I have a confession to make: I am a latecomer to scrapbooking. While I do not scrap chronologically, nor do I fee the urge to "catch up", I look for every opportunity to group pictures from different events together. When I was playing around with the Wander collection for a travel layout that I will share next week, it occurred to me that these would also be great papers for a layout showing Mark from 1998 and Melissa from 1999 playing with the same toy. My journaling reads: Talk about getting a lot of mileage from a toy! Mark and Melissa both loved taking the Cozy Coupe out for a spin.

So, how about a giveaway to reward you for reading to the bottom of this post! I have a package of Jolee's Boutique Sightseeing Dimensional Stickers up for grabs! These should come in handy as you scrap pictures of your summer vacation! If you leave a comment and are a follower of my blog, you will be entered to win. I will randomly draw the name of a winner on Tuesday morning.

Thanks for hopping by! Your next stop is Devra's blog. And when you are done with the hop, return to Amanda's blog to see how you can enter her blog candy. In addition, check out Clever Creations for a chance at some more blog candy! And, finally, The Twinery is celebrating their anniversary and has a fabulous prize up on their blog.

Supplies

Cardstock: American Crafts;

Patterned Paper & Stickers: Basic Grey (Wander);

Embellishments: Maya Road Microchips (Motif Buttons/Neutrals); Tim Holtz (Mini Paper Clips; Tiny Attacher);

Stamps: Technique Tuesday (Good Times; Borderline--Time and Space); Hero Arts (Travel Journal);

Ink: Ranger (Black; Coffee)

Tools: Fiskars Border Punch (Scallop Sentiment); EK Success Edger Punch (Postage Stamp)

Tuesday Trigger: Girly and Gutsy

It's time for another Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger. The challenge was to create a paper craft project inspired by this picture:

As soon as I saw the beautiful rug in this photo, I thought of the Hero Arts Classic Fabric Design background stamp and created this card:

In an effort to duplicate some of those glossy surfaces in the trigger picture, I decided to heat emboss the background. I chose Papertrey Ink's Smokey Shadow cardstock for a more subtle effect.

The focal point mat is actually made up of four layers which include three PTI die cuts as well as a Martha Stewart die cut lace tag.

Supplies

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Stamper's Select White; Smokey Shadow);

Stamps: Hero Arts (Classic Fabric Design); My Mind's Eye (Stella & Rose/Gertie "Girlie); Papertrey Ink (Label Basics; Fillable Frames #4);

Ink: Stampin' UP! (Basic Grey); Versamark;

Patterned Paper: Making Memories;

Tools: Papertrey Ink Dies (Limitless Layers Collection; Mat Stack 3)

Misc.: Stamp n Stuff Embossing Powder (Detail Clear); American Crafts Thickers; Martha Stewart Die Cut Lace Tag; Ribbon from stash.

On the Road Again!

I just got back from the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Valley Forge where I had a great time scrapping and shopping. Tomorrow, I am headed back to Pennsylvania with Melissa to visit my sister. Since I have been spending so much time in the car lately, it seems fitting to share the card I made for my brother-in-law's birthday last month. Here it is:

I was inspired to create this card after a recent family gathering where we were all talking about our talents. Sal gardens. Mark runs. Melissa dances. My sister, Diane, speaks French and Spanish fluently. My niece, Lisa, sings. And Frankie drives. Frankie is the type of guy who would drive 200 miles for an afternoon visit. He has logged hundreds of thousands of miles behind the wheel of the car so we tease him that driving is his talent!

Here's the inside of the card. I thought the sentiment was appropriate!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink;

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey (Wander);

Stamps: Hero Arts (Happiness Messages; Travel Journal);

Ink: Ranger (Black);

Tools: Cricut by Provo Craft (Graphically Speaking)

Pen: Uni-ball Signo Broad (White)

Sketchy Thursday -- Full Circle

Last week, I stumbled across the Sketchy Thursdays blog and I decided to play along. Here's the sketch:

And here's my layout:

The journaling (which I printed on vellum) reads: Mark, I love how Thomas is looking up to you in this picture. It reminds me that we have come full circle because just 14 years ago, you were looking up to Michael in much the same way. I am so proud of the choices you make and hope you will always be someone your little cousins can look up to!

The layout is pretty self-explanatory. After adhering the various strips of patterned paper to the cardstock, I stamped the Tattered Angels clock right onto the Pebbles patterned paper. Like the sketch, I stamped part of the clock off the page. For the hands, I stamped off onto a piece of scrap before stamping on the page so that they would be lighter. I wish I could say that the time I chose has some significance but it doesn't. I felt that 10 o'clock would balance out the image which was a little bottom heavy and not get in the way of the phase (life moves so very fast FREEZE) which I stamped in blue.

I stamped another circle partially off the bottom right of the page and added my title with rub-ons and Thickers. I am usually a pretty symmetrical person but I decided to add a 6-inch Crate Paper border to highlight the picture. I topped that off with some Lime Twist twine from My Mind's Eye and a button from my sewing box. As for the metal clock, I have no idea where I got it. It has been in my jewelry box for years!

Supplies:

Cardstock: American Crafts

Patterned Paper: Pebbles (Happy Go Lucky); Crate Paper (Toy Box); Basic Grey (Life of the Party; Basics/Kraft)

Stamps: Tattered Angels (Clock); Technique Tuesday (Studio AE April; The Family Circle);

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo); Stampin' UP! (Blue Bayou);

Punch: Martha Stewart (Scallop Dot);

Alphabet: American Crafts Thickers (Sweet); Fancy Pants rub-ons;

Twine: My Mind's Eye (Lime Twist).

Ad-spiration

Mark is turning 16 in a little over a week. Yikes! A year of learning to drive, PSATs and college trips is upon us. Realizing this, I thought I would share a birthday layout I did last summer. Don't know why I never got around to posting it. The inspiration for the layout came from this advertisement for the Imaginisce paper:

When I saw those colorful papers, I just knew that this was a layout I wanted to scraplift. Since I didn't purchase all of the embellishments, I made my own. Here's my layout:

Let me walk you through some of the handmade touches I made for just pennies! The banner at the top of the page of the inspiration piece was actually two different packages of paper ribbons, one with flags and the other with the sentiment. I created my banner by fussy cutting a piece of patterned paper which I purchased at just a fraction of the cost. After stitching the banner string, I added the sentiment on foam adhesive.

I also didn't purchase the Springing Stackers so instead, I die-cut a circle, stamped random dots using the back of a patterned circle stamp and added a chipboard number to create the "Celebrate 4" embellishment.

I did purchase two Snag 'Em stamps at $1 each. I heat embossed the "Make a Wish" stamp on red cardstock to add another texture to the layout.

I stamped the "For Me" stamp three times and used paper piecing and foam dimensionals to create a custom embellishments.

Journaling reads:

7/99 -- Knowing how much you loved firetrucks, cousin Marie sent this for your birthday.

This layout is not all I made with my three pieces of patterned paper and two stamps. You can see the cards I created with this collection on this blog post.

Supplies:

Cardstock: American Crafts

Patterned Paper: Imaginisce (B-Day Bash);

Stamps: Imaginisce (B-Day Bash); Papertrey Ink (Label Basics); Technique Tuesday (The Family Circle);

Ink: VersaMark; Stampin' Up! (Riding Hood Red); Ranger (Coffee); Ranger Distress Ink (Vintage Photo);

Embossing Powder: American Crafts Zing! (white);

Pen: Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip);

Embellishments: Recollections;

Tools: EK Success Circle Punch.

Acadia

I have been in such a card-making frenzy lately so I thought it was time I shared a layout. I am determined to finish scrapping last summer's vacation before we go on vacation this year. Wish me luck on that one. LOL! Anyway, today's layout is based on Nichol Magouirk's Scrapbook Stamping class from March. I love how Nichol uses lots of pictures on her pages and she has inspired me to keep my stamps handy as I work on a page. Here's Nichol's sketch:

And here's a layout of one of my most favorite days from our cruise to New England and Canada:

As you can see, I stretched the sketch to include four small pictures on the top half of the page. I also balanced the circular title mat with a circle for journaling. The bicycle was stamped four times with the help of my Stamp-a-ma-jig and heat embossed. Since I don't have fringe scissors or a grass punch, I created the grassy border underneath the four small pictures with the help of my Martha Stewart Icicle Punch!

For the title block, I cut the circles using my Spellbinders Nestabilities. After stamping the leaf, I added some of the Basic Grey stickers on foam dimensionals. The leaves from the Basic Grey elements sticker sheet were a perfect fit!

I typed the journaling and ran a piece of patterned paper through my printer. Then I cut the circle using the same Nestabilities. Finally I added the Basic Grey elements sticker as a subtitle. I used element stickers and glazed brads to add more circles and finished off the layout by stitching a border around the top half of my page.

The journaling reads: The Sweetest Memories. It was a 1-mile ride on the scenic carriage roads around Acadia's Eagle Lake and Jordan Pond for Sal, Melissa and me. Add a couple of extra miles for Mark who kept riding ahead and doubling back with words of encouragement for those of us who "lagged" behind. Oh to be 15 and in incredible shape!

Supplies:

Cardstock: American Crafts;

Patterned Paper, Stickers, Brads: Basic Grey (Marjolaine);

Stamps: Unity (Bicycle); Papertrey Ink (Turning a New Leaf; Library Ledger);

Ink: VersaMark; Tim Holtz Distress ink (Shabby Shutters); Ranger (Coffee);

Embossing Powder: American Crafts Zing (Brown Sugar);

Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities (Classic Circle): Martha Stewart Edge Punch (Icicle).