TGIF; Thankful Friday #241

Another week has gone by and we've been getting some great fall weather. I'm thankful this week for another family gathering. I am so grateful and thankful that both sides of our family are close in both distance and relations. 

We don't always get together, but when we do, we have a great time and truly enjoy hanging out!

I hope you have the same relationship with your family. 

What are you thankful for this week? Let me know in the comments here or on my IG page which is @3sons_and_astar

 

Birthday Wish Layout; Finishing Up a Kit

It feels so good when you use up a kit. I'm sure you're going to gasp, but I ended up tossing the last of the scraps of this Secret Garden paper kit from Quick Quotes. Sometimes you just have to do it! I was on their Design Team years ago and this was one of my favorite lines.

I also used some Texas journaling pocket cards for mats on three of the photos. I could have just tossed those too, but I was so happy to use them for this layout! The blue arrow paper is cut down to 11.25 x 11.25" square and matted on Blast Off Blue Cardstock from CutCardStock. Although both of these papers are pretty heavy, I decided not to gut the blue cardstock. (Just a lazy decision more than anything)

This layout was inspired by a sketch from Scrapbooking With Ann Marie. If you haven't already, check out her website. It is so great especially if you're a newbie and need lots of inspiration!

Be sure to check out the process video on how I put this layout together using one full 12x12 patterned paper and lots of scraps, punches, stickers and imagination!

I post two videos a week and at least one will be scrapbooking and the other will be whatever I'm creating in the Command Center which is the name of my craft room and of course, blog. I hope you decide to hit the SUBSCRIBE button.

Coffee Theme Card(s)

Hey there! Are you a coffee fan or do you know someone who is? I made this card for a Design Team project for the Sketch n Scrap challenge blog and you can see the original post HERE

And then created this second card to coordinate.

I love the green and brown combination...hmmm...remind you of any particular coffee company?

The embellishments on these cards were in my collection for a long time. Unfortunately, I'm not the one who made them. They were from a swap years ago so these are a limited edition :)

The punched paper was from a friend. She gave me a bunch of them. I thought they were solid cardstock so I was excited and then realized there were punched circles throughout. I wasn't sure what I could do with them and then this idea popped in my head.

If you like working with sketches, check out the Sketch n Scrap blog for card and scrapbook layout sketches. They post two of each every month!

TGIF; Thankful Friday #240

Yes! It's Friday again! This week went by fast and I am not complaining. What am I thankful for this week?  This week I'm thankful for on-line banking. Thankfully, since we started using on-line banking, we check our bank activity more often. Well, guess what? We had some fraudulent charges made to our account. I'm not thankful for the fraudulent charges, but I am thankful for noticing sooner rather than later and also the Customer Service at our bank.

What are you thankful for this week? Let me know in the comments below or on my IG account @3sons_and_astar. 

April, 2021 MIR Layout

I'm sure like me, all of you have a board (or two) in Pinterest with layout sketches and ideas. I pulled this sketch HERE because it seemed pretty simple and allowed for four photos. I love multi-photo layouts especially when scrapbooking an event.

I've been doing Month In Review layouts for some time now and I just love the idea. There are so many times during a month that may require a photo or two but not necessarily an entire layout (I'm not much of a one photo per layout person).

This layout is just that...things that took place in April, 2021.

I pulled out this paper pad from We Are Memory Keepers because I loved the colors and patterns. I used three pieces of patterned paper and was so determined to use that 'April' calendar card (check out the video) but it just didn't make the final cut.

Watch the process video as I go from one idea to another. The final layout is definitely inspired by the sketch, but of course I made it my own.

I ended up getting SEVEN photos on this layout! I also pulled out my "Sticker Book" and used so many wayward stickers to make the embellishment clusters. 

My advice for putting together clusters...make sure some part of each piece touches or are close enough to look like it belongs there - try to cluster in odd numbers and add a variety of shapes/types to create interest. There should always be a variety of "weight" between the clusters. One main (heavy), one a little lighter and then of course the lightest. This also adds visual interest. 

Of course there are no RULES in scrapbooking so do what makes you happy and what looks good to you!

Close ups of the three clusters:

I post at least two YouTube videos a week. One will always be scrapbooking and the other will be whatever I'm creating in the Command Center. I hope you decide to hit the subscribe button!

Hat Updo SF Style; Cricut Project

My hubby bought a plain hat and asked me to add the 49er logo to it. Of course, I will! He's been doing that a lot lately and it really is a smart thing to do. When you purchase official gear, they can be so expensive and creating your own is so much cheaper! I found this SVG online and adjusted the size for what I needed.

Now, I know what you're thinking...aren't the logos licensed? Yes, they are but from what I've read, you can use them for personal use.

I didn't take a before, but here's the hat completed.

I also filmed a quick & short video.

Happy Easter; CutCardStock Layout

I love these multi color titles and cuts that can be created using my Cricut. Yes, of course it can be a lot but the outcome is so cute! Here's a perfect example of an adorable title using 10 different colored pieces of cardstock.

All the cardstock was from CutCardStock including the marble base page (see below for the list of colors).

This Marble Robin's Egg cardstock is perfect for Easter photos. It reminds me so much of marbled Easter eggs. I wish I could do something that fantastic on my eggs!

I used two coordinating 6x6 patterned papers and adhered them in the middle of the 12x12 base. Well, not exactly the middle, but about 2" down from the top. 

Once I did that, I arranged the title and other embellishments around the page to create a visual triangle. I cut down the three 4x6 photos so that they would all fit within the 6" band. I decided to mat the photo of my son & his family to give it a little more weight.

After looking closely at the layout so far, I realized that the matted photo was too white heavy on the left side so I cut white cardstock into journaling strips and placed those on the bottom right . Then created a "tab" for the top right side by rounding the top two corners of a scrap piece of white cardstock using a corner rounder. Yup, it definitely looks balanced now.

So now what? It still needed a little something...I grabbed a piece of Pink Carnation cardstock also from CutCardStock and cut two 1/4" strips to add to the top and bottom of the layout. Since I already adhered the carrot on the bottom right, I carefully pulled it up and then put it back on top of the strip.

Pink splashes finishes the layout! I love how bright and happy the layout turned out. Check out the CutCardStock Blog Post HERE.

This was Daisy's first year of really getting into finding the eggs. She had fun. So much fun that she wanted us to hide them again and again for days afterwards.

But what I won't tell you is although we had a great time with the family, when we peeled the eggs to eat them, they were still pretty raw in the inside.  UGH!  I put them back in a pan to boil but then the colors all ran together and they ended up being too hard. You gotta laugh at these types of things!
 

CutCardStock Papers Used:

Pop Tone:  Cotton Candy, Bubble Gum, Pink Lemonade, Orange Fizz, Banana Split, Lemon Drop, Limeade, Sour Apple, Gumdrop Green, Berrylicious and Blue Raspberry

Basis:  Gold and Aqua

Other:  Marble Robin's Egg, Pink Carnation and Cougar Smooth White

Patterned Papers: Stampin Up and Taylored Expressions

Gel Print 3D Flowers Card

Originally I had my Gel Plate pulled out and I was going to create some monoprints but realized pretty quickly that I still have so many that I need to use.

So...I pulled out my stash of monoprints and selected two different purple pieces and one green. I am using a floral die from Spellbinders to create these beautiful 3D flowers!

I filmed the process and you can check it out on YouTube.

I wasn't sure what the plan was except the flowers - which turned out so beautiful! After using my Creative Memories circle cutter to create a circle frame, I realized that the white background was way too boring for these beautiful flowers.

A paddle brush and two different purple inks came to the rescue! I just sponged on some color, splashed some Silver and Black Licorice Color Silk around and then added some clear glitter glue dots here and there.

All I know is I must make more of these flowers (and probably try to find a YouTube video of how to attach the stamen. I know I didn't do that right!)

The final card:

What a huge difference this card turned out with the addition of purple inks and splatter!

Coffee Card; Sketch n Scrap

This is a fun sketch from the Sketch n Scrap blog. They post two cards and two layout sketches each month. Be sure to take a peek!

I chose this sketch and did this:

I hope you can see how the sketch inspired my card!

You have til the end of the month to link your project on the Sketch n Scrap blog.

TGIF; Thankful Friday #239

Another Friday and another week to be thankful. This week I'm thankful for cooler weather. We had temperatures in the high 80's all week and it's been really nice! And it's been nice to open up windows to let some fresh air in the house.

Is fall in the air? I hope so! It is my favorite season.

What are you thankful for this week? Leave a comment below or on my IG account which is @3sons_and_astar.

I started posted these TGIF posts there as well!

Have a great cooler weekend! 

If you're not already a subscriber to my YouTube channel, click over and see the two shorts I recently uploaded. These are actually pretty fun to film & post and I hope to do more.

Click on the YouTube icon to the right to go straight to my channel!

Road Trip Layout; Sketch n Scrap

This sketch called for some mixed media and I used stamps to get the look. I love how it turned out and especially since it didn’t take away from the photos.

Go to Sketch n Scrap for all your layout and card sketch needs. We have two layout and two card sketches a month. There's also a FB monthly challenge group.

The quotes are from a 12x12 sheet of paper that has been in my stash for years! I love using old stash. It makes me feel so accomplished. 

Here's the sketch:

I don't know...can you see the sketch in the final layout?

Watch the YouTube video to see how I put it together and make sure you click on over to the Sketch n Scrap blog to link your own project!

T-Shirt Orders; Cricut Projects

I've been busy working with HTV on my Cricut. I had two orders for shirts over the weekend. It's still super hot so working indoors is ideal this time of the year.

I filmed the process of changing one of these SVGs to work for what I needed to create the Hellfire Club shirt. I made one earlier for my granddaughter but didn't save the work I did. 

I hope this helps when you need to attach images in Design Space. 

I don't have a photo of the other two shirts I made since they both had personal information on them. Just know that they were cute too!  LOL

TGIF; Thankful Friday #238

Happy Friday and Happy Thankful Friday! This week has been HOT! I mean, 110 degrees HOT! I am thankful for our A/C! When you work in an office and then go home, you hardly notice the hot weather.

So yup, I'm thankful for our air conditioner and that it's working fine.

What are you thankful for this week? Leave your comment below or on my IG account @3sons_and_astar.

It's good to take time to realize that no matter the circumstance, there's always something to be thankful for even if it's the super sweet watermelon you ate over the weekend (which I did by the way!).

A Couple of Cute Chicks Scrapbook Layout

You know one of the best things about scrapbooking is that you get to relive the moments when putting layouts together. I'm am so grateful for this hobby!

I'm getting closer and closer to catching up with my photos and these are from Easter, 2021. I'm using a sketch from Scrapbooking With AnnMarie (Scrapbooking The Day Away). She has decided to split the Design  Team in two so we only have every other week commitment to create layouts. This works out so much better for me!

Here's the layout and close ups:

Patterned Paper Measurements:

Floral Paper (10x7) and the Dark Pink Tone-on-Tone Paper is (9x9).

Strips are all 12" in length and vary in height from 1.25 to 0.5".

I didn't think this layout needed journaling since I believe the pictures tell the story and because this is layout is part of others from the same occasion. The key to using multiple patterned papers is to have a variety of "weights". The dark pink patterned paper is very small, plus the tone-on-tone look makes it read as a solid. The thin strips of the other patterned papers are just enough to add more interest without overwhelming the layout!

Here's the YouTube process video:

It was nice to use more of the Easter papers I purchased years ago and to use the last of patterned papers from an old collection.

I hope you like it!

 

Purple Party 86th Birthday Cake Topper

Cake toppers are soon becoming my favorite things to make. I love how you can personalize them to fit any theme or celebration. We celebrated my mom's 86th birthday last weekend and since her favorite color is purple, we decorated all things purple! 

Prince was my inspiration for this cake topper. I incorporated diamonds, pearls and feathers to create this:

Check out all the fun angles. Even though you can tell there are some layers, unfortunately you can't really tell that there are layers, layers and more layers.  I feel that's the key when creating a great cake topper!

I filmed a YouTube process video for you to enjoy as well.

When designing a cake topper in Cricut Design Space, place all your images together how you want the final product to look making sure to use the offset button to create shadows and more layers of the elements.

Once your design is complete, group it all together; make a duplicate and then weld the duplicate to get one base layer. Now what I do is use the offset key on the welded/base layer to create another shadow. Once I do that, I delete the original base layer since I don't use it - you certainly could.

See the design all together on the left side? That's how I wanted it to look once I was done.

When assembling the cake topper, I adhere from the bottom to the top.  I do this in order to keep track of the different "levels" of paper/foam tape.

Watch the video and if you have any questions, please leave a comment. I'll do my best to give an explanation.