Unscripted Sketches #69 with a Piggy Back Challenge...

I had just finished watching the latest CTMH TV episode (the main video below the row of 5 thumbnails and towards the very end of the episode they go over ribbon) called Eclectic Elegance when I opened Unscripted Sketches' website and saw this weeks challenge.  We were to use non-traditional flowers to go with the sketch above.  It was like they were made for one another!  I very rarely watch the little episodes CTMH posts, but, another consultant had tried these flowers and posted on our bulletin board.  I loved the fact that they were so flat and couldn't wait to try them for myself!!  This challenge was the perfect excuse, I guess the card I was supposed to be making for my uncle will have to wait! ;O)  I also tried the method described in the episode for ruffling up ribbon...why didn't I think of that! 

Paper:  Magic Moments and Best Friends Forever

Cardstock:  Colonial White and Sweet Leaf

Ink:  Hollyhock, Sweet Leaf, Cocoa, and Creme Brulee

Stamps:  Whoo Loves You and Exclusive Stamp Set for Twitterpated Kit (not named)

Other:  CTMH Sweet Leaf and Hollyhock ribbon, leaves from Summer Posies, Antique Brads, Copic Markers (beak), and Adhesive pearls from Recollections

Page Maps Double...State Fair 2007

One last layout from Pagemaps July sketches for Month 10 of Owen's baby book.  I just had so much fun with Becky Fleck's sketches!  I always think about buying her book, but, she makes it too convenient to just get the sketches off her website!!  I am loving this Twitterpated paper more and more, but, trying to make peace with the fact that it's officially gone.

I absolutely love the cardboard buttons that compliment the paper.  I don't normally use a whole lot of buttons, but, these were so much fun and so easy to include!!  I had that little hedgehog colored already and couldn't resist sticking him in the layout as well.  How cute is he!!  I can't get enough of him and his other hedgehog friends...I like to think of them as porcupines though...it's more Alaskan that way! ;O)

Finally, the two pages together...  Hope you are all having a great week.  Owen's school is taking the week off, so I'm "forced" to stay home all but one day this week with him.  I'm really looking forward to some extra time with him!!  I think he's just as burnt out as I am!

Paper: Twitterpated

Cardstock:  Crystal Blue, Desert Sand, and Colonial White (stamped images)

Ink:  Crystal Blue, Sweet Leaf, Olive, Dutch Blue, and Cocoa

Stamps:  Happy Forever, Whoo Loves You, Exclusive Stamp Set from Twitterpated Kit, and Typewriter Keys

Other: Stickles, CTMH Organic Dimensional Elements (buttons),  Dimensional Ribbon Accents (long since retired), Pewter Photo Hangers with Colonial White and Pewter brads, ribbon by the yard from LSS, Making Memories Embroidery Floss, Recollections adhesive pearls from Michaels, EKSuccess corner rounder, and Zig pen

Heart 2 Heart Sketch Challenge...Happy Birthday Aunt Lori

Finally!!  I was able to play with along (and complete!) this week's Heart 2 Heart challenges.  It's been too long since I last got to participate.  I hate when life and work gets in the way of fun! ;O)  This was kind of a must and the sketch came along at just the right time.  My aunt's birthday is today and of course, I needed a card!  I had to pull out this little hedgehog one last time...for now anyway!!  

I'm trying to learn how to properly color with Copics, but, am having a tough time with it.  My instinct is to color from light to dark.  But, since the dark colors are typically on the outer edges of an image, by the time you get to them you've got so much ink on the paper that it tends to bleed really bad outside the image lines.  Anyway, this was my attempt at coloring from dark to light...I don't love how it turned out, but quite honestly, I was running out of ink by the time I finished this rendition!! ;O)  He's still cute and at least, I have finally figured out how to put a little blush on his cheeks with the markers instead of having to dig out my chalk....that's some progress...right? ;O)

O.k., so, I have to admit my Happy Birthday is tippy...but, to be honest, I finished the inside this morning after shoveling the majority of a dump truck load of gravel with my husband yesterday and basically had no feeling left in my hands.  You should have seen me trying to color those teeny weeny little butterflies!!!  We had to finish the gravel this morning and then I worked the rest of the day prepping for hydroseed...that's why my card is so darn late!!!

O.k., so I have another excuse regarding the photos...we have had a record 28 days straight of rain...that's right and I believe today makes 29!!  I am so tired of rain!!!  Needless to say, it didn't help us get the yard work done and it sure hasn't provided good lighting for my photos.  If you look close at both the front and inside of the card, you'll see I went nutty with pearls.  I just love them!  Alright, can you tell I've been trapped outside working my rear off and not able to really talk to anyone? ;O)  My husband and I are so tired and sore that we basically didn't talk at all last night except to complain about our aches and pains!!!  Hope you all have a great week!

Paper:  CTMH Perfect Day

Cardstock:  Orchid Bouquet (retired), Twighlight, and Colonial White

Ink:  Orchid Bouquet (retired), Twighlight, Sweet Leaf, Creme Brulee, Tsukineko Memento in Rich Cocoa and Tuxedo Black

Stamps:  Happy Forever and From Me to You (sentiment)

Other: Copic Markers, Recollections adhesive pearls from Michaels in white and a Twighlight Blue color, Martha Stewart Edge and Corner Punches, and Prima Flowers

Mojo Monday #150...Happy Birthday Uncle Bill!

Do you ever have one of those days where time flies too fast to get anything accomplished?  Yesterday was like that for me.  I needed a card and cupcakes to take to my uncle's house to celebrate his belated birthday.  But, I couldn't seem to get rolling and everything I did took longer than it should have.  This was by far, the fastest card I've ever put together and I'm afraid, it kind of reflects the lack of time spent on it!  But, I was so excited to finally use the hedgehog images from July's Stamp of the Month called Happy Forever.  Isn't he adorable!!  

I'll spare you everything that went wrong with this card, beginning with the fact that it started out manly, but, got really girly!!!  Fortunately, my uncle's a manly man that isn't worried about that kind of thing and especially when it's from me....I'm really proud of him (he's a retired marine) and feel lucky to have gotten to spend some time with him for his birthday.

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Paper: Cherry-O Creative Basics with Ribbon
Cardstock:  Crystal Blue, Sweet Leaf, and some sort of Copic paper from the LSS
Stamps:  Happy Forever and From Me to You
Ink:  Tsukineko Memento in Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa and Sweet Leaf (sponged around the stamped image)
Other:  Scroll Lace Corner Punch from Martha Stewart, EKSuccess Corner Rounder punch, Adhesive Sparkles from the dollar bin at Michaels, lots of Copic Markers, and CTMH ribbon from the Cherry-O Creative Basics kit

One More Pagemaps Sketch....Fun in the Sun

We've had a very busy couple of weeks between work and fun.  We made it to the air show last weekend...actually, over 200,000 people made it to the air show last weekend.  That's almost HALF the entire population of ALASKA!!!  It was a good show, but, WAY too crowded!!!  Owen loved every minute of it though and was very thrilled to get to tour the military aircraft.  He's already talking about going again....I'm not sure I can say the same! ;O)

I have managed to do a little scrapbooking in the meantime though.  I'm still working on Owen's first year.  Month 10 uses Twitterpated paper which is officially all sold out...I'm a little upset about that!  Although, I'm not a huge fan of sorbet, it's hard to blend that color with my photos, but, I think in this case, it worked out o.k..  

Paper: Twitterpated
Cardstock: Crystal Blue and Sweet Leaf
Ink: Crystal Blue, Sweet Leaf, and Cocoa
Stamps: Cobblestone Alpha and Small Chocolate Alpha
Other:  Colonial White Edge Anchors with Chocolate brads, Twitterpated Cardboard Buttons, Stickles, Making Memories Embroidery Floss, Fiskars and Marvy Circle Punches, EKSucces Corner Rounder, Martha Stewart Boarder Punch, Ribbon from LSS, and Zig pen

Page Maps....Relax

I'm three months shy of having Owen's "Baby Book" done...well, the third scrapbook for his first year!!!  Can you tell he's an only child!  Anyway, I'm hoping to get it all wrapped-up so I can feel like I've finally accomplished something!  I decided when I first started that I'd do each month with the same paper pack and just make it work.  So, far, I think it's worked out...you've got to love how versatile CTMH paper packs are.  This is the last page I had left to do for "Month 8" with Perfect Day.  Don't you just love those little feet...I have such a weird fascination with those little chubby toes! ;O)  Owen's crossed his feet like that since he was teeny tiny, people always ask me why I pose him like that...how in the world do they think I get him to sit still like that intentionally!  

I used another great sketch from Pagemaps, I'm so glad I thought to check them out again!  I've had a lot of fun with their sketches lately and look forward to doing more.

I had just gotten two new punches on clearance from Michaels and was excited to put them to use.  The first is the Martha Stewart Scroll Lace punch and the other was EKSuccess notebook.  I was surprised that despite the fact that EKSuccess technically makes both punches, I really preferred the Martha Stewart version.  But, I did like that the EKSuccess punch locks...anyway, just surprised at the differences.

Paper:  Perfect Day
Cardstock:  Twighlight, Olive, and Colonial White
Ink:  Twighlight, Olive, Bamboo, and Cocoa
Stamps: Cobblestone Alpha
Other: Stickles, EKSuccess corner rounder and Notebook punch, Martha Stewart Scroll Lace Edge Punch

Pagemaps...Those Big Brown Eyes

O.k., my husband and I were debating if the way I photoshopped this photo of Owen is creepy or not.  But, I think I like it and if nothing else, it definitely makes the point that I wanted it to! ;O)  I used one of the PageMaps sketches posted this month.  I haven't used their sketches in a while and had forgotten how much fun they are!  I wish I had put the title a little bit lower, but, its too late...I tried to move it, but it tore the paper and I don't have another of the flourish rub-ons...so, I guess I like it where it's at! ;O)  For those that don't know already, Owen's initials are "O.W.L." and his nickname is "Hoot".  So, I like to try and include owls into his pages wherever possible.

Paper: Caprice

Cardstock: Colonial White

Ink: Cocoa and Creme Brulee

Stamps: Large Friendship Alpha, Small Chocolate Alpha, You're a Hoot, Comments, and Dream Wishes

Other: K&Company Rub-Ons and Zig Pen

Fish-On Page 2...

So, here's page 2 for my Fish-On layout.  Not at all what I was envisioning and I may have to take a second stab at it later!  These pictures are all of my little man on our road trip to Fairbanks last month.  Fairbanks is between a 5 and 6 hour drive from here and nothing but two lanes and lots of trees between!!  The drive is SO boring!! ;O)  I hadn't been up there in ages, and it's been even longer since I went up for fun instead of work!!  But, we made the most of it and tried to stop a couple times both directions to stretch our legs.  Owen did an excellent job on the entire drive and even seemed to enjoy our "photo ops"!! ;O)

The layout for this second page was from CTMH's Reflections book.  If you want to know more about the first page, see this post.  

Paper:  Animal Cookies Creative Basics

Cardstock: Honey, Black, and White Daisy

Ink:  Desert Sand, Tulip, and Black

Stamps:  Outdoor Trek and Hook, Line, and Sinker

Other: Stickles

Carving Memories....

These days, I have two aspirations...the first, to use up this ridiculously huge stack of paper I've accumulated and secondly to get better at color challenges!  It became glaringly apparent when I attempted Heart 2 Heart's last color challenge (Tulip, Buttercup, and Black) that I need work in this area!!  So, while I was contemplating taking on another color challenge, I came across this entry at A Creative Life.  Janine does amazing work and in my opinion, one of the best at color challenges!! 

I loved the colors in this challenge and immediately thought of the last of my Halloween pictures from 2009.  Plus, the color scheme was similar to the other page I'd already done (see details of first page here)...so, I kind of cheated.  O.k., I really cheated, plus there's absolutely no grey in any of my paper, I'm easing into it! ;O)  

I also used the Inspired Blueprint Sketch #28 to get started, but, rotated it to accommodate all of my landscape pictures.

My pumpkins look off in this picture, in real life they match the paper exactly.  Weird huh!  I absolutely love our Autumn Leaves and can't believe that CTMH retired them.  I've never seen anything like them anywhere else and use these very sparingly!!

Paper:  Felicity

Cardstock:  Desert Sand, Cocoa, and Colonial White

Ink:  Autumn Terracotta and Cocoa

Stamps:  Homestead Alpha and Homestead Alpha

Other: Recollections Rhinestones, Stickles, Martha Stewart Punches, and Just Blooms Autumn Sunflower flowers and Fall Leaves (retired)

Heart 2 Heart Sketch Challenge...City Scape

I've been pretty busy the last few weeks and haven't had much time for scrapping.  In fact, I missed last two week's challenges over at Heart 2 Heart!!  I was on such a roll before that!  Oh well, I was excited to get back to it this week with my favorite kind of challenge, a sketch from the Close To My Heart Card Sketch Book, Wishes!!

Dave's Granny is celebrating a birthday in a few days and as usual, I'll be late getting the card to her.  But, I don't think that comes as a surprise to anyone anymore!!  I struggled to color this darn bear, I don't know why, but, I've never had much luck with him.  I love him though!! ;O)  I finally settled on watercolor paper and pencils.  I'm still not 100% happy, but, if you knew how many renditions I went through...you'd understand why I settled!!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful week...mine's going to be a bit stressful.  I'm looking forward to the end of July, things should get better at work for me then!

Paper: Veranda Level 2 and Creative Basics

Cardstock:  Juniper, Creme Brulee, and Colonial White

Ink:  Juniper, Creme Brulee, and Tsukineko Rich Cocoa

Stamps:  From Me to You (sentiment), The Best Way (Bear-retired), and Flower Pot

Other:  Martha Stewart Corner Punch, Strathmore Watercolor paper, CTMH Watercolor pencils, Spring Blossom Just Blooms, Creme Brulee Ribbon, and an old Connections Club Reward-Adhesive Pearls

Hatcher Pass...Page 2

I initially thought I'd just do a one-pager (see original page here) for last fall's drive to Hatcher Pass, but, I kept looking at the pictures and felt like I needed to add a second page.  That happens a lot lately for some reason.  I used to stretch all of my photos into 2-pagers and then somewhere along the line, I decided it made more sense to focus on one page at a time.  I guess, I've found a happy medium where I can always come back and add another page if I just can't resist! ;O)  Technically, these don't necessarily "go" together, but, I'm still happy with how it turned out.

I absolutely love fall and all the colors that go with it.  The Emporium paper pack seems to have been made to with fall photos in mind!!  I've gotten a little obsessed with Stickles lately and ended up going back and adding some to the original page as well, to help make them match a little better.  

We had so much fun driving around Hatcher Pass, I love that Dave and I have created traditions like this with Owen.  My family never really got along well enough to do things together, let alone, plan to do them every year.

Paper: Emporium

Cardstock: Colonial White and Honey

Ink: Cocoa, Sweet Leaf, Honey,and Brown Bag

Stamp Sets: Large Friendship Alpha and Many Thanks

Other: Stickles, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Suede and Yellow Daisy, and Zig Pen