Reaching Amethyst Status

I went out to my weekly Friday night crop and managed to do the last 3 layouts required for me to reach my Amethyst status at Scrapbook Steals. I started off with #10 and it came together quite easily for me. I had 2 pictures instead of 1, but you can still see how my layout was inspired from the sketch. The paper (Kaisercraft) was something I have had in my stash for quite some time and I was happy to use it. I love the pictures because there is nothing more peaceful than a sleeping baby :)

Next I did sketch #8. The sketch had hexagons on it, but I am quite partial to squares. I was excited because I got to use more of my papers and embellishments from the Bo Bunny Alora collection. I love the whimsical feel which is great for my little ones and it's not too girlie. This picture shows exactly how my eldest loves the baby :)

Lastly, I did sketch #4. Those are the eggs I filled for the egg hunt for my daughter, nephew and niece. The basket was the one for my daughter (my nephew's had Spiderman stuff in it and my niece's had board books and things more appropriate for her at 14 months). The page was done with scraps that I had and I like the mix of colors. However, I am struggling to find a clever title to add, so that is all that is missing. I hope to get hit with inspiration at a later time...

I am glad to be done with all 10 sketches...with 8 of them being done tonight and last Friday. I am definitely a procrastinator!

Amethyst 2, 5 and 7a

I also have some layouts I did of my first daughter last week to get caught up on the Midweek Mojos for Scrapbook Steals. The first one (Amethyst #2) is one of her hamming it up while she was eating toast and jam (notice the little raspberries I made with a hole punch in the top left corner to show what kind of jam it was). She literally eats from the top of the bread (where are the jam is) and eats THROUGH the toast. She is one strange kid ;)

The second layout (Amethyst #5) was from a day she was going to her first birthday party that was not her cousin's. It was for a girl from her daycare and it was at a gym. Boy did she ever have a great time that day!

And finally, the last layout (Amethyst #7a) is of her doing one of her favorite things: painting. If she could paint every day she would be a happy camper. I get little canvases at the dollar store and she gets really excited when I break them out every once in a while. If anything, it's nice to do multiples because then we give them to family members (grandparents are always happy to get things like that). She is a budding little artist and I can't wait for the day we start scrapping together!

Amethyst #3a and #9

I have fallen behind on the Mojos from Scrapbook Steals. However, this week I managed to get 2 done of my youngest (Alexis). I really liked the sketch for Amethyst #3a and am quite proud of the soft look of my page (I never use white cardstock as a base and used some Tattered Angels mist to add a bit of yellow). Because of the way the light hit Alexis in the picture, I knew I wanted to put a sun in the top left corner to look like it was shining down on her from that side. I'd say it was a fun interpretation of the sketch.

The next one is this week's sketch (#9). I had just received the Bo Bunny Alora collection this week from Scrapbook & Cards Today and was dying to use it for something. I decided to use it for this mojo and am quite pleased with how it looks. It was nice to have the embellishments in the pack as well as it made the page come together so well. 

So there you have some of the layouts I got done this week.

Embossing and ATCs

I am new to the heat embossing world, but am looking forward to using the technique more and more. My first "splash" in that world was making spring ATCs (artist trading cards) for a swap I am involved in. The only rule is that the cards must be 2.5" x 3.5". After that, the design and techniques you want to use are all up to you. It's really neat to see the diversity in a group of women given just a simple theme to run with. I was a part of one for fall and one for winter and am still in awe of what some people can create on such a small area. This time round we are 28 participants, I believe. Spring as a theme was much harder for me than the last 2. I made the same design, but in 6 different colors. I used a mask and then stamped with Versamark ink all around it to emboss the negative of the image. Someone made a comment about it seeming like something "Taj"-like. I wasn't sure if I was happy with the end result of my embossing, but have to remember that I am still learning. Next time I will do a simple stamp as I think that would be cleaner.

Without further ado, here is what they look like:

The cardstock is Bazzill Limeade (one of my all-time favorite colors) and the embossing powders are ZING, which give such great colors. I got them from Scrapbook Steals in case you were wondering ;)

Spring is Here (?)

We have been having days when it is beautiful out, sunny and warm and then some not so nice days when it is overcast and cold. These are 2 layouts that happen to have pictures from the same day (it got warmer as the day passed). The first one was in the morning on a walk I took my 3 year-old on. She LOVES going outside and is happy to just walk around the neighborhood if we aren't heading to a park. The background paper was something I had in my stash for some time and I had picked it up because I loved the look of the flowers but was not sure if I would ever have a way to use it. Well, as a friend of mine pointed out after seeing the layout finished, it looks like the perfect extension of the pictures taken and blends into the sky from them. I love how "fresh" the whole thing feels. The title was done using Amy Tangerine Thickers and the hand drawn flowers were done with some metallic markers I got from Scrapbook Steals. If you have not seen their site yet, you should definitely check it out. They also have great sketches every Wednesday as inspiration (although I am proud I came up with this one on my own).

This next layout has pictures from that same day, but in the afternoon. I wanted to take advantage of the great weather, but do a fun activity with my daughter. She also loves to paint and do crafts, so I set up her table and chairs outside on the patio so she could paint outside. I had to take pictures because I want her to see the joy she got from such simple tasks later on in life when she will inevitably start getting caught up in things that pull your focus away from the simple pleasures. This page is very simple. It was just about showing her enjoying her art, the process of it and the end result. I can't keep every single thing that she makes over the years, but I can take pictures and put them in layouts to show her later on all the great things she came up with.

A quick note: the title was once again done using Amy Tangerine Thickers...I have several sets and they are all great (I get asked by many scrapbookers what kind they are and where I got them).