Sketch Savvy #77 and CSI #23...Olivia

Grrr....I literally had this done, photo taken, and was ready to post when the clock ticked down missing the deadline by minutes.  I don't pretend to think I would have won, but, it's the principle of the thing!!  Anyway, how great is this color scheme!!  I had so much fun with this one and was so proud of myself for mixing and matching all kinds of paper!!  Here's the Case File from CSI:

And here's my layout:

Evidence:  Flowers, Monogram, and Border Punch

Testimony:  My journaling is written as a letter to Olivia

Paper:  CTMH Twitterpated and Discovery, Basic Grey Origins, and Kaiser Craft Tiger Lilly Collection
Cardstock:  CTMH Buttercup, White Daisy, Sorbet, and Blush
Stamps:  Journaling Jots
Ink: Pear (around journaling spot) and Grey Wool
Other:  CTMH flowers and Color Ready Wood Pieces (can't remember exact name), Martha Stewart border punch, Hero Arts and Recollections adhesive sparkles, Cricut and Gypsy, and Zig pen

Here's the layout from Sketch Savvy that I used.  Its another great one!

Sketch Savvy and CSI...Love

I was so excited to get to enter a CSI challenge, but, although my layout was almost done, everything went downhill...I dropped my letter "V" stamp and ripped it in two while I was trying to peel it off the photo.  Of course, the stamp itself peeled up the color off the photo anyway forcing me to place one of the journaling spots over top that specific spot.  Then, if that weren't bad enough, I'd messed with my rubons until they were stuck to the wrong side of the plastic and I made one heck of a mess of the other photo trying to use them anyway.  I guess since it's taken me an additional two weeks to get a picture and post it on my own blog, it obviously just wasn't meant to be!! ;O)  

Oh well, if you haven't tried a CSI challenge (Color, Stories, Inspiration) yet, what are you waiting for!!!  I can't believe how much fun they are and how much I've stepped out of my box and used product/ color challenges I never would have thought of without them!

Here's the Case File for this one...

Evidence: I used doilies and flowers (the doilies being the stretch for me!)

Testimony: I used both 3 different size journaling spots as well as 3 perspectives...each journaling spot is each one of us telling Olivia about our thoughts the day she arrived.  Owen wasn't so cooperative, so, I just told about what he was thinking/doing in the days leading up to her arrival. 

Now that I look at the case file and layout side by side, I was off on the color scheme some...the pinks aren't quite right are they!  Well, I tried anyway!

Paper: Basic Grey Urban Prairie and DCWV Green Stack
Cardstock: CTMH Colonial White, Hollyhock, and Sweet Leaf
Stamps:  Friendship Alpha
Ink: Hollyhock
Other:  Bazzil Basics flowers, Doilies from my stash, K&Company rubons, Butterfly sticker from Walmart, Robin's Nest Dew Drops, Stickles, EKSuccess corner Rounder, Cricut, and Spellbineders/Cuttlebug

The sketch I used for the layout was this one from Sketch Savvy.  I'm so loving her sketches and am so thankful, I wasn't sure I'd find another I loved as much as Sketchy Thursdays!!

Pencilines and Fly Boys...

This is another layout I started when I was still pregnant for my mother's album and have just now wrapped up.  To put it in perspective, I think it was the current challenge at Pencil Lines (who closed up shop months ago) when I first began!!  Sad I know.  Needless to say, I'm SO tired of looking at it and had little brilliant inspiration to contribute, so, its pretty simple.  I didn't glue the pennants down quite right and I see in my picture the "F" has slid off a little...I'll fix that! ;O)

Gotta love these pictures though...that was my little man at almost a year and my brother at 8.  They just happened to have coats that were almost identical, too cute! 

Paper:  Imaginisce (Can't find any name of the line)

Cardstock:  Barn Red, Desert Sand, and Colonial White

Stamps:  Pennant Alphabet, Confidential, and Star Struck

Ink:  Desert Sand and Barn Red

Other:  Hemp twine, Zig pen, and CTMH Cork Alphas

Pagemaps and Little Beauty...

Paper:  Basic Grey Wisteria

Cardstock:  Smokey Plum

Stamps: Vintage Type and Bohemian Alpha

Ink: Amethyst and Gypsy

Other:  Recollections Butterfly and flowers, various adhesive gems, CTMH Bitty Sparkles colored with Copic Markers, Dollar Butterfly Punch from Michael's, Fiskars circle and border punch, EKSucces corner rounder, and Making Memories embroidery floss

This layout is pretty simple, but, it took FOREVER and clearly does not resemble the Page Maps sketch posted on their blog here.  This one was so frustrating because of the way I insisted on printing the pictures and by the time I decided it wouldn't work, I'd wasted to much time/supplies.  So, I powered through and a month later, this is what you get! ;O)

Love...

Paper:  Basic Grey Urban Prairie

Cardstock: Blush, Creme Brulee, Hollyhock, and White Daisy

Stamps: Key to My Heart, Bohemian Alphabet, Hope, and Can't remember the "joy of life" stamp set

Ink:  Blush, Hollyhock

Other:  Spellbinders and Memory Box Dies, CTMH Clear Buttons, Making Memories Embroidery Floss, CTMH Bitty Pearls and Brads, Martha Stewart and Michael's Dollar Butterfly Punches, Recollections Pearls, Joann Essentials heart brads, Fiskars border punch, CTMH ribbon, Sizzix embossing envelope, Marvy and Zig pens.

I started this layout shortly after I found out I was having a girl and will use it as a cover page for her baby book.  The layout was on the cover of one of CTMH's catalogs with a paper I didn't like and I've been dying to recreate it.  I wish I'd done the stitching differently, but, I still like it overall!  

Freshly Made Sketches Baby Girl Card...

I was blog surfing a little today and came across this super fun card sketch blog called Freshly Made Sketches!  They are doing a special blog hop for one of their DT members who is expecting a new baby in the near future.  I loved the sketch and decided to keep with the theme and get a jump on the cards for all the new little ones my friends are expecting this year! ;O) 

I love this bear image, he's one of my two go-to baby images.  But, I think he's a little big for this standard sized card...I may have to rethink him in the future!  I also had to laugh because I've spent five years focused on little boy scrapbook supplies and have practically nothing in pink.  This stack from Basic Grey is about all I've got!  Olivia has a little outfit that is brown with, dark/light pink and grey spots on it and I thought I'd use that for my own little color challenge.  I like how it turned out, but, definitely not my typical colors!

Paper:  Basic Grey Urban Prairie
Cardstock:  Blush, Hollyhock, Grey Wool
Stamps:  Beary Much and New Arrival
Ink:  Grey Wool and Tsukineko Memento Rich Cocoa
Other: CTMH flowers and Clear button, Making Memories embroidery floss, Fiskars border punch, EK Success corner rounder, and Prisma Water Color pencils

Deepest Sympathy...

Cardstock:  CTMH Colonial White and Pansy Purple

Stamps:  Treasure Life, Universal Backgrounds, and Card Chatter Sympathy

Ink: CTMH Pansy Purple and Cocoa

Vicki Wizniuk posted a cute card on her blog the other day that was based on a card by Wanda Guess.  I love to look at new blogs, so, I ventured over to Wanda's and fell in love with this card here.  I thought it was so pretty and so simple, it would make a great sympathy card.  Sympathy cards are so tough for me and of course, they always get done in a rush because you never plan for a death.  I had all the supplies out for the "Family" layout still, so, I did my card in Pansy Purple with the Treasure Life and Universal Background stamps.  Easy Peasy! ;O)  Hopefully, I never have to use it though!

Family...

Paper:  Creative Memories-Nancy O'Dell's Hummingbird Collection

Cardstock:  Colonial White and Pansy Purple

Stamps: Treasure Life, Treasures, Journaling Jots, and The Works Alphabet

Ink:  CTMH Pansy Purple and Cocoa

Other:  JoAnn Craft Essentials Clear Embossing Powder with Versamark, Making Memories embroidery floss, JoAnn Essentials Brads, CTMH Bitty Brads, Ribbon from LSS, and Cricut 

I bought a scrapbook and matching "Hummingbird Collection" paper from Creative Memories over a year ago with the intentions of starting a scrapbook for my mother as a gift for her birthday last November.  Needless to say, with the year I've had, that didn't quite a happen.  But, I did manage to get this layout done based on this one here that I'd done a couple of years ago for Owen's scrapbook.  I hate to tell you how long ago I started this!!

CSI Case 20 and Sketch Savvy...Little Lady Bug

Happy Memorial Day!!  Don't forget to thank a service man/woman for their sacrifices today!!  Thats the least we can do while we enjoy our freedom...

Paper: Imaginisce Twitterpated, CTMH Let's Get Together (yellow) and Emporium (light green)

Cardstock:  White Daisy, Black, and Kraft

Stamps:  Just the Ticket, Rustic Alpha, Small Chocolate Alpha, Ambiance, and Fluttering Frames

Ink: Cranberry, Buttercup, Pear, and Tsukineko Memento Black Tuxedo

Other:  CTMH flowers, Imaginisce Brad and Twitterpated Rub-ons, Plantin Schoolbook Cricut Cartridge, Copic Marker (lipstick red), and Marvy Pen

While I was busy being pregnant and miserable, my favorite sketch blogs, Sketchy Thursday and Pencil Lines decided to call it quits.  I am still upset, Sketchy Thursday's sketches always struck a chord with me and between their great sketches and amazing DT, it was instant inspiration.  Anyway, I've been blog surfing a little trying to find new sketch sites and in the process, learned about CSI.  You've GOT to check out this challenge site, it's SO much fun!!  I desperately tried to put together my layout yesterday for Case #20 and get it submitted in time, but, I just wasn't fast enough.  I did however complete it from start to finish in one day...thats practically record breaking for me!! ;O)  Of course, I got no work done and my house is a disaster! ;O)


So, here's a quick synopsis of how it works, you have to complete a sketch (cards don't count) using all 5 colors provided, 2 options from Evidence, and 1 from Testimony.  They even provide digital papers and embellishments to download and print!!  I used...
Evidence:  Insects/Bugs and Kraft Background (I snuck a mushroom in just on principle)
Testimony:  Set Journaling on top of something and Inspiration Word: cute (in my journaling)

The other site I learned about while I was blog surfing was Sketch Savvy.  It's absolutely fabulous and reminds me a lot of Sketchy Thursday sketches, but, even better!!  I chose to use Sketch #70 from back on January 20th.

Mojo Monday Baby Shower!

Yaaay!  I finally got a chance to play a little this week and even had a good excuse!  I have a baby shower today and needed a card.  I was counting earlier, including me, I've known six different people that have had babies since September of 2011 and I know five more having babies between May and this September!!  It's like there's something in the water lately! ;O)  Stay clear of Alaska if you don't want a bundle of your own!!

I played along with this week's Mojo Monday sketch and used my favorite digi stamp from Meljen's Designs.  Believe it or not, she still has it in her freebies here!!  They currently have a blog challenge to use one of their stamps with pink and green.  Wish I had checked before I did this card...I may just have to do another one! ;O)

Paper:  DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Boy (Really Old Stack)

Cardstock:  Pear, Gypsy, and White Daisy

Stamps:  Meljen's Designs Digi Sweet Little Donkey, New Arrival, and Card Word Puzzle

Ink:  Tsukineko Memento Ink in Tuxedo Black and Gypsy

Other:  Copic Markers, Stickles, Robin's Nest Dew Drops, CTMH Bitty Sparkles (Colored with Copic Markers to match), Fiskars Border Punch, Casa Collection Ribbon, Crop-a-Dial corner punch, and Nestabilities Die Cuts

Our Little Girl Is Here...

Olivia Laray finally arrived a couple of weeks ago and we are slowly getting into a routine and getting more sleep!  I hope to have time to be crafty soon.  In the meantime, here's some pictures I thought I'd share of our new little angel!!  Her brother is totally smitten! ;O)