Scrap Your Stash BLOG HOP *Practical Scrappers*

Welcome to the Practical Scrappers Scrap Your Stash Blog Hop!  You should have arrived here from Jennifer Haggerty's Blog! A whole bunch of us have gotten together to tackle our mounds and piles of scrap goodness that has been left to the wayside and is collecting dust as new products continually find their way to the front of our scrap desks!

I, personally, have been trying to scrap my stash more and trying NOT to buy as much (but is is SO hard!).  So I try to incorporate a little something from my stash here and there.

But for today, I did an entire page devoted to using my older stash.  It's not new news that I love working with Crate Paper products, so I used up some papers and embellishments from Acorn Ave, The Pier, and Close Knit.

I started by using a stencil and some gesso on the background.  It was a little too white, so I tried wiping it off, and it left a lighter cover, and I was happy with that!  Then I splattered some mists and water colors here and there.

For my page design, I was inspired by a sketch at Skissedilla, and used strips of paper, distressed them, and then stitched them down with a mix of straight and zig zag stitches. Then I used a few other patterns to mat my photos.

The rest was just clustering of embellishments: stickers, chipboard, brads, labels.....all tucked here and there around my photo.

I spent an HOUR looking for the wagon chipboard piece that I KNEW I had seen somewhere before.  And just FYI, if you ever need a wagon, there is one in the Crate Paper Close Knit die cuts (NOT the one on my page), and this chipboard one from Crate Paper Acorn Ave. (and that collection also has one printed on a card and a wood veneer one, too!).

If you would like to see the ENTIRE blog hop list, please go to the Practical Scrappers Blog!

Now you are headed over to Lee-Anne Thornton's Blog!

Stay scrappy my friends!

What's In Your Basket?

Last Easter, we spent the day at Grandma & Grandpa's and the Easter Bunny hid some eggs and baskets there!  Of course the thing the kids were most interested in in their baskets were the candy filled plastic eggs.  And of course you have to compare to make sure you got the same thing as your sibling.

I used the Dear Lizzy Day Dreamer collection for this page and it is based on a sketch by Melissa Elsner.  You can see on my title letters above that I tried to create an ombre effect by using a stamp pad on the white letters, and stamped darker from right to left.

I used an egg cut file from the Silhouette store to create my eggs from white paper and vellum.  Since the flower paper was so busy, I decided to keep the eggs white.

Finally, to ground the photo more, I stitched a large circle in the background.  And for embellies, I fussy cut out some of the flowers and leaves from that floral print paper...yes, it took a while!


Hope you had a wonderful Easter!!!

Stay scrappy my friends!

Top Dog Dies and Scrapbook Circle *BLOG HOP*

Welcome to the Top Dog Dies & Scrapbook Circle Blog Hop! Today we’re showing off projects featuring exclusive dies from Top Dog Dies and the new Bucket List kit from Scrapbook Circle.

At Scrapbook Circle ( http://shop.scrapbookcircle.com/) we are passionate about preserving our family memories. We love sharing daily inspiration and connecting with others who also love to create. We have been creating monthly scrapbook kits for over seven years. Each of our kits includes a custom printable and we have now expanded our shop to included coordinating digital files. We create exclusive items for each monthly kit. We strive to provide you with fresh products every month that inspire you to create.

Scrapbook Circle Special Promotion:  Use code scrapbook20 to receive 20% off your order today though May 31, 2014.

Top Dog Dies (http://www.topdogdies.com/) is a new online store that offers their own brand of wafer-thin and steel-rule dies, along with dies from brands you already know and trust, including Little B, My Favorite Things, Lawn Fawn, Taylored Expressions, Savvy Stamps and Cheery Lynn Designs. Top Dog Dies is also the leading U.S. retailer for Tattered Lace (http://www.topdogdies.com/brands/tattered-lace-dies.html)  a new line of intricate dies designed by British designer Stephanie Weightman.

Top Dog Dies is also offering a special promotion during the hop. Spend $100 on anything in the store and get 15% off when you use code SCHOP15, or spend $60 and get 10% off when you use code SCHOP10.


Scrapbook Circle is giving away two $50 Prize Packs of exclusive wafer-thin dies:

Top Dog Dies is giving away a Bucket List Kit 

Winners will be chosen from comments left on on the Design Team Members blogs or the Top Dog Die and Scrapbook Circle blog - be sure to leave some love by Sunday, April 27th when the hop ends.

I got to work with the Mason Jar die, and was excited because Mason Jars seem to be a hot trend right now!  In my entryway, I have a set of frames that I like to decorate for the season or holidays.  I thought a Spring themed jar would look pretty in one of the frames that is backed with burlap.

I began by cutting the jar shape from a piece of vellum and the "newsprint" paper from Fancy Pants in the Scrapbook Circle "Bucket List" kit. I put some gold heart between the two layers and then cut a slit in the top  vellum layer to add my flower stems into.  Then I glued around the edges.

My stems I cut with my Silhouette Cameo and used some paper from the Bucket List kit (except for the green paper from my stash).

The die come with the mason jar shape, a lid die, and 2 labels.  I just used the jar and one of the labels because my jar was "open" to hold the flowers. For the label, I used another paper from the Bucket List kit and cut the delicate 'flowers" title on my cameo from dark brown paper.  I did some faux stitching around the edges.  And that's it!

Its time for you to continue hopping to the next person, Diana Waite!

In case you get lost along the way below is an entire hop list: 

Top Dog Dies 

Scrapbook Circle 

Amy Wanford 

Amy Tsuruta 

Giovana Smith 

Katie Brooks 

Stacey Schafer 

Nicole Picadura 

Renee Robbins 

Karen Letchworth 

Wendy Sue Anderson

Sara Zenger

Heather Leopard

Diana Fisher

Adrienne Alvis

Audrey Yeager <--- You are here!

Diana Waite

Tessa Buys

Leslie Ashe

Thank you and stay scrappy my friends!

Clownin'!

We went to the circus a few weeks ago and I haven't been in YEARS!  The kids had a blast!  I was excited for them to see clowns for the first time.  When we walked in, there were lots of groups of clowns you could get your photo taken with.  Kyler was SO scared, he would NOT go near them.  And it took a lot of coaxing for me to get Charlotte to sit down to take a photo!

I used todays sketch from the My Scraps & More sketch blog, and it also happens to be the daily sketch for our Sketchathon on the message board.

I had a really hard time with this page at first because of all the colors in the photo.  So I decided to do mostly black and white with bits of color here and there.

I started by using some gelattos and water on the background, and then splattering with grey and black ink.

I used some of the thin washi tape from the Amy Tan Plus One collection for the border under the photo, and then embellished with some stickers and brads.

Hope you can play along with the sketch this week!

Stay scrappy my friends!

Do you wanna build a Snowman?

I couldn't help but try and use a line from "Frozen" at some point on my blog this winter.  So here it is.

When I asked the kids this, their answer was YES!  But guess who did all the work?  Momma.  They helped pack in the snow a bit and put some of the pieces on.  And Charlotte helped me find sticks for arms, and while we were doing so, noticed the Holly bush.  So we picked a piece (which somehow ended up in the snowman's armpit) and it also became our snowpersons' name: Holly!  :)

This is yet ANOTHER page for the Sketchathon going on at My Scraps & More!

I started by washing over the background with some gesso and a dry brush to tone down the pattern a bit.  Then I machine stitched a circle with white thread in the upper right corner to draw more attention to the photo up there.  A trick I used on a previous page that I will probably use again and again, is to use a white pen and draw in some lines along the white threads to make the circle stand out more.

I splattered some blue paint on the background, too. Then I just placed my photos, and built up the one in the top right a bit more with some papers and embellies.  For my title, I just decided to use the words right on the die cut...it was perfect!

Finally, I bit of layering with some labels, brads, chipboard, and pre-stitched pieces.  Working with a whole collection makes it so easy to put things together!

Would love to see you join in at the Sketchathon!  Check it out HERE:

http://myscrapsandmore.proboards.com/

Stay sccrappy my friends!

Muddy Mess!

When the snow starts to melt, we get mud.  Lots of mud.  Why is mud so fun?  I have no idea....but it keeps my kids entertained and I don't mind throwing their clothes in the laundry!  So I let them play!

I don't usually mix and match lines, but I did a LOT on this page!  I used products from the Amy Tan Plus One, Dear Lizzy daydreamer, Crate Paper Styleboard, Studio Calico Lemon Lush and Wanderlust collections!  I love how the background paper looks like rain drops!  That's why I chose it!  :)

For each photo, I just added some bits of paper behind and clusters of embellies on top of each.  I layered vellum, chipboard, die cuts, stickers, and even some wood veneers. Then topped it all with some machine stitching in black.

On my title letters, the black alphas were just too dark, and I wanted them to look more muddy, so I used white ones and stamped them with some grey and brown inks.  And I LOVE those gold foil leaves from Studio Calico!

I kinda like the bright springy colors of this page contrasting with the MUDDY photos!  :)  And there is a lot more mud out there still!  :)  but at least the flowers are starting to poke through in some spots!

Stay scrappy my friends!

Snow Fall- My Scraps Sketchathon!

Have you stopped by to see all the awesome things going on with the Sketchathon at My Scraps & More???  There are some seriously fantastic sketches by the DT members!

I am sharing one today that is a favorite of mine lately!

We had a LOT of snow this winter and there were literally MOUNDS of it everywhere, espeically after shoveling.  The kids liked standing in front of a pile and falling back into it and then looking up at the falling snow!  I used the wonderfully colorful and fun Bundled Up collection from Crate Paper.

On my background, I started with white cardstock and then stitched a transparency on it from Webster's Pages.  This embellishment is from the Crate 3D embellies pack.

I die cut a whole bunch of snowflakes and then just scattered them on my page.  I dusted off my Stickles and added some glitter sparkle on them.

Finally, I just tucked some tags and a few other embellies on the page and it was done!  The only patterned paper on the page is that strip in the middle!

It is still early in the month and you have plenty of time to play along with the sketches!  Check out the forum HERE: http://myscrapsandmore.proboards.com/

Stay scrappy my friends!

Let's Be Explorers!- Scrapbook Circle sketch

Hello all!  Back again with another page using the April Scrapbook Circle Kit!  I played along with Diana's sketch today on the SBC blog AND used the exclusive cut file she created on my page as well!

A few weeks ago, while at my parents, the kids and my dad and I went for a little walk and did some "exploring"!  Charlotte picked up some pinecones and sticks, and Kyler a big pile of leaves....all of which ended up in my pocket because we had to "keep" them!  :)

One of my favorite items is the pack of die cuts from the Fancy Pants "As You Wish" collection.  So using Diana's circle cut file as inspiration, I pulled out some of the circular elements from the die cuts and also the buttons, too.

 For my journaling area, I just left one of the circle open to write in!  A pretty simple page for me, but I loved using that circle cut file!

Be sure to share your take on the sketch on the Scrapbook Circle FB page and blog, too!

Stay scrappy my friends!

The way she dresses...with a SKETCH and little tutorial....

Hello everyone!  Back again today to share a page with the lastest Scrapbook Circle kit and a sketch that I made exclusively for the My Scraps & More SKETCHATHON going on this month!  

So Charlotte has started dressing herself almost everyday (unless its a school day, then I pick out the outfit).  She has NO concept of patterns and colors!  :)  She just picks what she likes and puts it on.  I have been trying to teach her that if she picks a shirt that it is solid color, to choose pants with a print....it's a work in progress!  :)  But I have to hand it to her for actually wanting to get dressed and DOING it!

I used this month's Bucket List kit from Scrapbook Circle, and created a sketch for this page for the SKETCHATHON at My Scraps & More!

Do you know I also have a whole bunch of other sketches on the "Sketch" tab above?  Check 'em out!

So let me show you a little tutorial on how I made the #4 circle element on the bottom right of my photo using the Crate Paper Oh Darling! acetate alphas.

First, I chose some random numbers, letters and symbols and made a pile of Glossy Accents on my non-stick craft mat.  Then I layered the pieces on top of each other, making sure to really press it into the glue so the glue would get between the layers.  If needed, I added a few drops of the Glossy Accents here and there between the letters.  Then I let it dry COMPLETELY overnight.  

Once dry, I traced a circle shape onto the numbers and cut it out (I tried to use a punch, but the acetate was too thick with the layers of letters).  I inked the edges a bit in black, then added the #4 with a pop dot on top!  You may notice that the #4 is white behind it and not clear: that's because I painted the back of it with white paint to make it stand out more.

I used some more of the letters as part of my title and just stapled them to the page.

 A few hearts, a 3x4 card from Fancy Pants (that says :LIFE), a couple banner pieces, and some stitching to top it off!

Hope that you use this sketch!  If you do, please SHARE and link it up at the My Scraps forum!!

Stay scrappy my friends!

Cupcakes from Carol! My Scraps Sketch...

Friday is sketch day on the My Scraps & More Sketch Blog and the first sketch is up for April!  

Hubby's step-mom was in town and stopped by for dinner. She NEVER comes empty handed and brought the kids some adorable cupcakes (and use a fruit tart!  Yum!).  They had so much fun eating them, but there was a LOT of frosting!  They loved it!

When I saw this weeks sketch, I immediately thought of the thin Amy Tan washi tape from the Plus One collection, so I started with that to make the blue and pink lines in the center of my page.

On the four squares, three are photos and the fourth I decided to use an an embellished area with this cupcake from Crate Paper Party Day collection and silver glitter pennants from Studio Calico Lemonlush. On the cupcake, the yellow was a bit dark, and if you look closely, you can see that I used some of the thin yellow washi tape to create a bright cupcake wrapper.  Also, for the "faux" tag where my journaling is, I traced a tag, punched the hole for the twine, and then cut a thin slit on the edge to pull the twine through.  It almost looks as if it is a real tag!

Just a few splatters of black paint, some enamel dots from MME, rub on arrows from the AT Plus One, and a chipboard heart from Studio Calico (and those awesome black thickers, too!)

Hope you can find some time to play along this month with the sketches on the My Scraps Sketch Blog!

Stay scrappy my friends!

Should I go with xxPro or Valencia?

Have you heard the #selfie song by The Chainsmokers?  The girl talking reminds me so much of the girl in the song "Baby Got Back".   I don't take many selfies. But we happened to be outside on a nice, spring like day, and I was with the kids and we were having fun and the sun was setting, and it was just such a nice night, so I thought I would document myself enjoying it! Plus the quote "Not all who wander are lost", is one of my favorites so I have to include that on my page. I used the Scrapbook Circle April kit, "Bucket List" and a few of the add ons.

I started with a kraft background and went over it with some white gesso with a dry brush.  The Fancy Pants papers in the kit are SO bold and have great patterns, so I just used small bits of them to add a LOT of color.  I also layered some of the Elle's Studio die cuts (seen here) and ephemera from Fancy Pants as well.  Oh, and those little wood veneer triangles come in the kit....they are AWESOME!

Around the outside edge of my page, I used the Studio Calico stamp and stamped a border with dark grey ink.  Then I stitched the frame with teal thread and added some stitching to my die cuts, too.  I added some chipboard buttons and put black BRADS from my stash in them (I need to use those things more!)

There are some awesome things happening at Scrapbook Circle this month, so stay tuned there!

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On another note, we are having a SKETCHATHON the entire month of April at the My Scraps & More forums.  All the sketches have been EXCLUSIVLEY designed by the DT, and they are awesome!  Stop by and check it out HERE:  My Scraps & More Forums.

Stay Scrappy My Friends!