Relaxing By The Pool

I loved the sketch from My Creative Sketches so much, I decided to use it again. This time I turned it around and put my photos vertical.


Here's the sketch:

My layout:

I was also inspired by the mood board on Off the Rails Scrapbooking site. The mood board inspired the color theme and feel of this layout. 

These photos of Kenny and I are when we were at Palm Springs last August. We spent a lot of time in these cabanas just sipping wine, reading, listening to music and just hanging out. It was so hot in Palm Springs it actually got up to 115 at one point.

I used patterned paper from a collection that Carly bought me from Echo Park. All sticker embellishments are part of this collection too. I love those vintage cameras! The painted piece is something I did while on this vacation. I added "Relaxing By The Pool" for this layout.

I knew having kids at a young age would eventually be a good thing. Kenny & I are enjoying ourselves at this point of our lives and have been trying to take mini-vacations every other month or so.  Of course, he won't fly so our destinations are limited, but I love road trips - always have and (hopefully) always will.

Fiesta Moments 2015

It was fun actually scrapbooking this past weekend.  I have so many pictures to scrapbook and I feel like I'm so behind. 


My Creative Sketches has a monthly sketch that helps me when I'm having a creative block. 


Here's the sketch:



Here's my take on it:

LOVE all the paper layers.  I was browsing through this website's DT and I just love Kris Berc's style.  Check out her blog HERE.  I love how she has only one or two photos but tons of layers of paper.  Using patterned paper scares me.  But I remember I took a class years ago and the instructor's tip was to treat patterned paper as if it's a solid.  Look at the color and density of the design versus just thinking of it as patterned paper.  Also, if you use papers from the same kit, they are designed to work together. 


At first I wanted to grab all the orange and blue paper I could find, but I didn't have much orange and the orange I had didn't feel right.  So I went to blue.  I have a paper pad that I received for my birthday a few years ago.  The blue was just right.  Once I selected that sheet, the rest just fell into place. 


The man/woman embellishment and heart border came from the Artbooking Cricut Cartridge.


I hope you like it as much as I do!

Everybody Clap Your Hands

I'm finally getting some scrapbooking layouts completed.  It sure helps when you use a sketch and especially a sketch challenge website.  This sketch comes from CSI.  This particular challenge is also a sketch challenge along with other requirements.  Check out their website HERE.

Case File #188 details:
Five required colors:  Tangerine Yellow, Lt. Yellow, Teal, Black and White
Evidence I used:  Music Accents, Stripes and Triangles
Testimony:  Song Title/Lyrics and stacked journaling.

My layout:

These pictures of LeAnna are so cute.  I took a million.  I used spray ink to add color, stamped the musc notes and hand drew the triangles.  I like it but it's so different and messy compared to what I usually do. 

Challenges help me get out of my comfort zone.

Background Story:  LeAnna has been practicing doing the Cha Cha Slide for a while before the actual graduation date.  She was a little shy when the music first started, but soon got into it.  She's such a CUTIE!

(The circles were handcut and I had the rosette made from card candy I made a long time ago.  The background paper is actually a calendar page.)

February Flower of the Month; Violets

Hey friends,
Here's my monthly piece for the Lila Grey Digital Flower of the Month. Once I printed the flower image on white cardstock, I went online to check out violets and their colors. I know, I know, you'd think I'd know that violets are purple with yellow in the center and that's what I saw for the most part. 

This time I colored the flowers first. I used my Gypsy alcohol marker from CTMH which is a dark purple. I used yellow acrylic paint for the centers. I also used my Pear alcohol markers from CTMH for the stems and leaves.

HINT:  My markers were dry when I tried to use them so I pulled the tops off and dropped some un-natured alcohol into the pen chamber. I read that somewhere on the web and this re-moistens alcohol markers. It works! I purchased the un-natured alcohol at a local hardware store.

I shaded around the flowers with an apricot watercolor Tombow marker. This is where the inspiration hit! I decided to use this amazing background stamp that I ALMOST tossed out. I was gifted a ton of stamps from Rubber Paws (see more projects inspired by Rubber Paws by clicking on the Rubber Paws label on the side panel) and slowly started separating out stamps I would not use. This was one of them. One day I looked at the pile & thought, "Hey, that's a pretty cool background stamp.  It has a little of everything." I LOVE this stamp! LOL

Right?!

Anyhow, back to my piece...after covering the colored image with masking fluid, I used Apricot Ink from Stampin' Up! to blend the marker and ink around the page, then stamped the background stamp over the image using the same ink color; two sets of circle stencils (one was outlined in black charcoal pencil & smudged and the other sponged with baby blue acrylic paint); added random squiggles/marks with a white-out pen; splattered black ink all over and also stamped with small bubble wrap.  Removed the masking fluid, added some shading around the image with my Sahara Sand marker from SU! and done.
Supplies:

Final Piece:

I'm entering the STAMPlorations Stencil Sunday challenge and January Mixed Media Challenge.  Stencils used are two circle stencils.  The smaller circles are from Heidi Swapp and other is an old one from my stash.  I do not know the manufacturer.

See their challenge and other entries HERE

Also at the Happy Little Stampers challenge blog.  Their monthly mixed media challenge is for stencils too.

Additional Piece:
I decided to make another one using basically the exact same supplies.  This second one only uses one circle stencil and is a little bit smaller than the main piece.  I'm going to adhere this one to a card base.

Be Rich in Good Deeds

Normally my bible sits on my nightstand next to my bed but because I've been doing some Bible Art Journaling, it's been in the Command Center.

Needless to say, it's been awhile since I've read it.  So, the other night, I pushed aside my art supplies and placed my NIV Mother's Inspiration bible on it.  As always, I started my prayer before opening my bible.  This time, I didn't have a specific prayer so I was just talking to God about the day and other things going on in our household. 

Just a brief summary, my husband was aching and in so much pain from a tooth infection.  Now this is going to sound really bad, but I had one pain pill left over from my foot surgery that I've been hoarding saving for a rainy day.  I didn't want to give it to him.  Yeah, that bad...anyhow right before I went to the Command Center, I was washing dishes downstairs and as I was trying to convince myself that there was nothing wrong with what I was thinking, but soon realized that I was being selfish and borderline drug addicty (yeah, that's a word in my dictionary).  So I went upstairs and offered the medication to hubby.  He took it (and it did help).

So back to the conversation between me and God.  I didn't even mention this in my conversation with Him prior to opening my bible, but lo and behold, this is the verse that God gave me to read and reflect on:

Command them to do good; be rich in good deeds; be generous and willing to share.
1 Timothy 6:18

HOW AWESOME IS OUR GOD!  I laughed so loud and hard, I actually had a stomach cramp.  Don't ever let anyone tell you, you cannot have a personal relationship with God. 

I used watercolor pencils from CTMH to color in the image.  Instead of a wet paint brush, I used a baby wipe to spread the colors.  The stamp is from Rubber Paws.  I handwrote a portion of the verse and underlined it.  I used a black fine point BIC pen for the letters.


Note:  Hubby did have an infection; dentist prescribed some penicillin, pain pills and anti-inflammatories.  Oral surgeon extracted the tooth and all is well!

Celebrity Fun

I posted these photos earlier, but I finally had the chance to do some scrapbooking.  These are my favorite photos of the year especially because they turned out so horrible.  LOL. They are blurry and neither of us look good in them, but you can tell we're having a great time.  Ok, I admit.  We did have some adult beverages (probably a lot of adult beverages) before taking these, but it was still hilarious trying to take selfies.  Neither Kenny or I are pros - shoot we're not even amateurs when it comes to taking selfies.

Anyhow, I am entering this layout in the My Creative Sketches December challenge.  Go to their challenge site by clicking HERE.

The layout:

Supplies used:  Patterned paper is by Crate Paper.  The HEllo Love line.  I just purchased these papers in San Diego this week and the ephemera pieces set.  The vintage lady in the left hand corner is cut from the Suburbia Cricut Cartridge.