Larry lives happily ever after

Update: Woo hoo! My layout was chosen as one of the favourites over at Color Throwdown. Thanks Tammy!

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Today I'm sharing another (finally) finished layout that was started at last month's all-day scrapbook marathon put on by Jennifer at Scrapbook Adventures. I chose to scrapbook a photo of my dog Larry along with journalling talking about how he joined our family earlier this year. Larry wouldn't be most people's first choice (he's old, arthritic, deaf, and on lifetime meds for thyroid problems) but he is just perfect for our family! He had a tough beginning to his life but we'll make sure that the rest is "happily every after..."

I ended up changing out the background cardstock (thank you to Color Throwdown Challenge for reminding me that reds can really make browns pop!) for something bolder which I think really draws more attention to Larry's lovely face.

Challenges:

• A True Friend - pet tales
• Amber's Crafts & Stuff - patterned paper (I used 5 different patterns!)

• Color Throwdown - color (I even matched the dog to the color palette!)
• Crafts 4 Eternity - anything but a card
• Hooked on Crafts - cute & cuddly (it doesn't get any cuddlier than my Larry)

Jedi birthday

Update: Yay! My card was chosen as one of the top 3 over at Totally Papercrafts!

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We just got back from vacation and I realized that the kids have a couple of birthday parties coming up quickly so I sat down and made this card in a bit of a rush. It's pretty simple (and looking at the photo now, I wish I could go back and jazz it up with some layering or inking) but the kid it's destined for is a huge Star Wars fan so I figure he'll be happy.

The card uses a sketch from Sketches by Carly and a digital image from Dustin Pike. The papers are all Basic Grey and the circles are cut using Nestabilities.

Challenges:

• Corrosive Challenges - all about kids
• Doodle Dragon - animals
• Sketches by Carly - sketch
• Stamps R Us - happy birthday
• Totally Gorjuss - punch or die cut
• Totally Papercrafts - one for the boys

Summer birthday card for my sister

This card is for my sister's birthday and this image from Sarah Kay just seemed perfect when I first saw it because she is an avid gardener, animal lover and outdoors-loving girl. If anyone is likely to be found outside in her bare feet, it is probably my sister. Mind you, she would be more likely to be weeding than sitting, but no one is perfect!

The image, as I said, is Sarah Kay's, Isabelle with Puppy. The patterned paper is Basic Grey and the border punch (hiding under the image) is Martha Stewart.

Challenges:

• 2 Sisters - anything goes
• Blogger's Challenge - summer
• Craft Your Days Away - summer
• Craft Us Crazy - anything goes
• ECP Challenges - summer
• Everybody Art - garden
• Fairytale Challenge - summer
• Paper Playtime - summer
• Paper Sundaes - beach or summer
• Pink Elephant - fun in the sun
• Simon Says Stamp & Show - anything goes
• Southern Girls - happy birthday
• Stamps R Us - happy birthday

Hoodoo? We do!

Another layout using photos from last summer's vacation in Alberta. The kids had such a great time exploring the hoodoo's (the strange mushroom-shaped rock formations) and I loved scrapbooking the photos. Since the area (Drumheller) is known for its dinosoars, I decided to do a dinosaur theme.

I used a variety of new (to me) embellishments on this layout - canvas letters (coloured light blue using Copic markers, then lightly distressed with ink), corrugated cardboard strips (actually scrap cardboard that I ran through my crimper) and twine (tied in the chipboard button). The dinosaurs were cut using the Accucut machine at my LSS.

Challenges:

Blogger's Challenge - summertime

Crazy Amigo Challenge - vacation

Die Cut Dreams - 4-legged animals

Fabulous Fridays - buttons (note the button in the bottom left of the first page)

Fuzzy Wuzzy - get punchy (dinosaurs are animals, right?)

Make it Monday with Kraft Outlet - favourite things (my kids and vacations; trying new techniques & products)

Paper Playtime - summer

Totally Papercrafts - one for the boys

Life - a mini album

Update:  I was chosen as one of the top 3 at Lasting Memories! What a wonderful recognition, especially considering the quality of all of the other submissions (not to mention the design team projects).

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Clipper Street but my Class Card doesn't lie. Thanks to my wonderful friend Jacqui, I ended the learning drought by taking "Tattered memories". The class was a lot of fun as it involved using distress inks, glimmer mist and alcohol inks. Nothing beats getting messy! I finally finished up the album this week by adding the last few embellishments and photos of a recent family vacation to the Calgary Zoo so that I could give it to my parents as a gift.

Pretty well all the papers used in the album are from 7 Gypsies, as well as most of the embellishments. And, of course, there is liberal use of Tim Holtz Walnut Distress Ink. For the book cover, we used heavily distressed chipboard letters, a bingo card embellishment, the EK Success binder border punch and some mica. This was my first use of mica and I'm still not sure of what I think about it. The shine is nice and it is really cool that it can be left thick or peeled into many, many thinner layers, but I can't help but think it looks like old cellophane tape (lol).

I loved using this acetate sheet for a page. I used my brand-new tiny attacher to add the cardstock and then added random strips of word stickers on the back to hide the staples.  The various tags were a fun way to add journalling.The acetate shape on the corner was cut on the accu-cut machine and has been liberally inked with a couple of alcohol ink colours (I think butterscotch, green and perhaps a brown?).
 Challenges: 

• Creative Belli - make your own embellishments
• Do You Stack Up? - chipboard
• Everybody Art Challenge - shapes
• Just for Fun - acrylic
• Lasting Memories - album with a summer theme
• Papertake Weekly - anything goes
• Shopping Our Stash - use something from a swap/RAK/won or from a kit (the project itself is a class kit and ribbon is from a card kit)
• Simon Says Stamp & Show - use a flourish

Paper doll from Mo's Digital Pencil

The wonderful Mo at Mo's Digital Pencil has offered her Facebook fans this adorable paper doll "Trudy" to play with. I decided to have a bit of fun with this image. I paper-pieced the dress from 2 different Basic Grey papers and then adhered it to a sheet of acetate which was then placed over an opening in the card front. I decorated the card front with a rub-on and small flower embellishments (fussy-cut from the patterned paper at the bottom) along with a frame cut using two sizes of a Spellbinders nestability.

Inside the card, I placed the coloured (and paper-pieced) Trudy paper doll. I love how she looks dressed for the party when the card is closed but is so adorably under-dressed in reality. The underwear are paper-pieced from another scrap of Basic Grey patterned paper. The image is coloured with Copic markers.

Challenges:

• 2 Sisters - birthday
• Card Patterns - sketch
• Craft Room Challenge - summer birthday
• Creative Belli - handmade embellishments (the flowers on the card front are fussy-cut, glittered and pop'd up)
• Cupcake Craftroom - polka dots (check out her underwear!)
• Divas by Design - die cuts/punches
• Lawnscaping - decorate the inside of the card
• Mo's Digital Pencil Facebook Group - Trudy's party dress
• Stamps R Us - there was a little girl
• Penny's Paper-crafty - happy birthday

Wedding wishes

Update: I was the random winner over at Unstampabelles! My prize arrived today - a stack of outline stickers along with a great booklet full of ideas for using them. Thank you Unstampabelles!

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Today I'm sharing a gift card holder that I created for my nephew's wedding this past weekend. I found the design in a magazine (which one? I can't for the life of me remember!) and was immediately struck by its simplicity and elegance. I also love that the gift card holder is incorporated into the card front so there is still lots of room inside the actual card for a message and best wishes.

All of the papers are Basic Grey. I made the butterfly by folding and layering 2 acetate butterflies onto each other. The leaves behind the butterfly are a Martha Stewart punch.

I loved the design so much that I ended up making a second gift card holder using the same design. This one is for my son's teacher.

I rotated the card and added a simple tag so that the card holder ends up looking like a present. I admit the card is a bit top heavy but I think it turned out very pretty. Again, the papers are Basic Grey.

Challenges:

By the Cute & Girly - Things with wings
Card & Scrap - Use punches/die cuts
Craft Your Passion - Anything goes
Creative Belli - "G" (for gift card holder, green)
Divas by Design - Die cuts/punches
Flutterby Wednesday - Anything goes with a butterfly
One Stop Craft Challenge - Make a tag or include a tag (I've added a tag to my second card)

Totally Papercrafts - Bingo (brads/flowers/ribbon; punch/flowers/gems)
Truly Scrumptious - Things with wings
Unstampabelles - Celebrations