Card #13 - Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge 97

Just a quick post to show you a new card I finished today using this sketch from the Kraftin' Kimmie blog:

I thought this sketch was just perfect for my new Lilybelle stamp along with this awesome sentiment from Graphicat Designs. Not sure who this one's going to, but I think it will brighten someone's day whether it's a birthday or just for no occasion at all.

Supplies: Close to My Heart and Bazzill cardstock, Cosmo Cricket and unknown patterned paper, Kraftin' Kimmie stamp, Graphicat Designs sentiment, Memento ink, Copic markers, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, Prima flowers, Close to My Heart pearls, and unknown ribbon

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Some Announcements

Check out this scrumptious blog candy! My friend Alison is giving this away tomorrow to celebrate her birthday and the launch of her new Stampin' Up business, so you should definitely get over there now, you wouldn't want to miss your chance!

Tomorrow is World Card Making Day, and there will be a huge, MASSIVE, blog hop with an all-Canadian line-up, including yours truly! I hope you'll check out my card (it caused me so many headaches, but I think it's a winner!) and join the hop, as I know for a fact there will be some SWEET CANDY handed out!

Okay, smells like Brenna needs my attention! See you all tomorrow!!!

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Layout #53 - August Project 12

Here is the sketch for Project 12 for August:

and here is what I came up with:

I kept it fairly simple, and stuck very closely to the original sketch. The hard part was narrowing down all my August pics to only three, but I think I put the best ones on here. I just love this paper pack from Close to My Heart, but I didn't have any royal blue, so all of the blue paper you see was actually cream - I just brayered over it with blue ink. The scallop frame around Brenna's face is homemade, too. I just made a large circle frame with my Creative Memories circle cutters, and then cut a bunch of smaller circles in half to make the scallops. I added some green twine at the top, and a subtitle made with my trusty label maker, and that's about it - a fun summer page! I'm also going to link this up to Sketches in Thyme for their Open Challenge.

Supplies (all CTMH): Splendor Level 2 paper pack, Moonstruck ink, Chocolate (small) alphabet stamp set, Clover Meadow brads

Other: Twinery twine, Bazzill Just The Edge border, Dymo label maker and tape, unknown twine

P.S. Hunter's settling in pretty good, probably about 90% house trained. Nolan had a bit of a breakdown yesterday where he was feeling very overwhelmed and restricted, and also that he wasn't being a very good dog owner, so we had a heart-to-heart (I told him that's exactly how I felt when I had him 9 years ago!) and I think he's feeling better about the whole situation today. Here's another pic for you to enjoy!

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Layout #52 - JUGs and Sketches in Thyme

Loved this sketch from Sketches in Thyme:

and loved the colour combo this week from Just Us Girls: aqua, pumpkin, and kiwi. Actually, I didn't think I'd be able to participate in this challenge just because I didn't think I had any photos with those colours. Then, I saw Brenna playing outside wearing an aqua shirt and orange pants. Add a bit of green grass, and voila, the colour combo is met! Now my next challenge will be to get rid of some photos off my scan disk, it is right full and goes back to my birthday on December 27th. (Or I could get a new scan disk, but that would just be too easy for me, now wouldn't it?)

Supplies: MME and Making Memories patterned paper, Close to My Heart cardstock, stamps and brads, Ranger Distress Ink and Perfect Pearls Mist, Prima flowers, American Crafts Thickers, Hampton Arts stamps, Colorbox ink, Twinery twine

P.S. - I made my scrapbooking goal for the year, already!?!?

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Layout #51 - April P12 and Puppy Pics!

I know, I know, April Project 12, you're thinking?! This was the month we moved, so that's my excuse, haha! I finally got it done, and I really like how this one turned out. Almost everything here is from a kit I won from Scrap Attack Scrapbooking. Love this kit, everything is quite masculine, but with a lot of neutrals that seem to go well with everything.

Supplies: Close to My Heart cardstock, stamp (Noted Backgrounds), ink, and embossing powder, Scrap Within Reach and Little Yellow Bicycle patterned paper, Prima flowers, Adornit by Carolee's Creations stickers, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, Creative Memories pen, American Crafts Thickers, unknown ribbon

I had a lot of requests for puppy pics, so I live to serve:

This is Hunter, and he arrived Sunday night from Princeton. He is 8 weeks old, and is strictly Nolan's dog (although I'm going to find it very hard not to let him bond with me, as I'm the one he's with when Nolan's at school). Isn't he the cutest thing? When he was pooping and peeing on the carpet this morning, I didn't think he was so cute, but he's napping now so I can appreciate him more at the moment. I'm going to spill my guts here a bit, so if you're not interested in the personal nature of the Hunter story, feel free to skip on down to comments, I won't hold it against you!

Nolan's a special kid, and I know all kids are special in their own way, but he's always been different. He's always been extremely verbal and intelligent, beyond his age. But he's also always been extremely spirited, intense, and oppositional. He has trouble controlling his emotions, and he gets easily frustrated, which causes monumental tantrums. He has never been able to understand the concept of personal space, and he's constantly annoying others with getting too close or poking or grabbing... I could go on for hours. Before we moved in April, he had been to see a GP, then a year later a pediatrician, but to no avail. We just figured he was that type of kid and would probably grow out of his behaviors in time. After we moved, however, things got worse. I knew moving would be stressful for him, but I expected him to even out after a few weeks, or a month, but no. So I decided to seek help. After months of meeting with different professionals, we now know that Nolan is not going to "grow out of" these behaviors. It seems as though he may have Asperger's (a mild form of autism) and/or ADHD and/or ODD (that's a new one, eh? Oppositional Defiance Disorder) and/or anxiety disorder. He's on a wait list to get a full assessment, but it could still take a long time. Anyway, the point is, he really just wants a friend and has had a heck of a time getting to that point with other kids, and it's probably something he will always struggle with. So we thought, rather than get him a gaming system that will probably make him more antisocial (or he would take it apart!) or toys (they always get broken within a week!) or clothes (he could really care less about clothes!) for his 9th birthday, we decided to get him this puppy. I really hope that this is a wise decision on our part, because puppies are a lot of work! But Nolan's already been really good about cleaning up his messes and showering him with love, so maybe it's a match made in heaven - we shall see! Wish us luck!

Did you see the new blinkie in my sidebar? I am taking part in a blog hop for World Card Making Day on October 1st. This will be my first blog hop, so I hope you will join in. Guaranteed candy along the way, hint hint! I also hope you will join in at Creative Accents Challenges for the recipe challenge: 1 ribbon, 2 embellies, and 3 patterned papers on your project. Easy as 1,2,3! Prizes to be won, fun, fun!

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Card #12 - Pile It On!

Here's a simple card I made for my brother-in-law Mike's 41st birthday. I realize it looks more like a St. Patrick's Day card, but if you knew Mike, you'd understand. Mike is a self-proclaimed Irishman. This is something I don't really understand. Yes, we have an Irish last name, but I think this branch of the McCleary clan has been in North America for something like 200 years. And yet Mike embraces everything Irish from the history to the literature to the sports, and of course, the beer. (And he's single, so if you're in the lower mainland and know a single Irish girl who likes cops and rugby, let me know, please! Our kids need cousins!) I just printed out this clip art image of a beer mug and a totally appropriate sentiment from Graphicat Designs, then layered them both up on a 5x5 base. What do you think of the bottom layer? It's a mesh bag from avocados! (Thanks to Karen B for that idea!) I sprayed the whole thing with some Perfect Pearls Mist, but you can't see it in the photo, unfortunately.

Anyway, Jason found this T-shirt for Mike in Kamloops:

Dropkick Murphys, apparently a real band that Mike actually listens to! Hopefully he likes his present and card!

Challenges I'm entering this card in:

Pile It On: use lots of layers (that background layer is mesh from an avocado bag!)

Sweet Sketch Wednesday: use this sketch:

Graphicat Challenges: Use a sketch, any sketch (the sentiment is also from Graphicat)

Creative Stamp Friends: Card for a man

Supplies: CTMH cardstock and brads, Kaiser, K&Co, and American Crafts patterned paper, Graphicat Designs sentiment, Ranger Perfect Pearls Mist, avocado bag

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Layout #50 - Monkey Face

Here's the 2nd layout I was working on at the crop the other night. This time I used a Page Maps sketch from one of the Page Maps books the store has available for croppers. I'm really loving the Maya Road kraft doilies I bought there, I bet I'm gonna use them up real quick! I finished most of the layout at the crop, then added the doodles, journaling, title, and a bit of machine stitching on the ribbon at home. I just love these photos, I'm glad I got them on a page!

Supplies: Bazzill cardstock, Webster's Pages and Echo Park patterned paper, Maya Road doilies, Hampton Arts alpha stamps, Close to My Heart ink, Creative Memories pen, unknown ribbon

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Layout #49 - Sketchy Thursdays

Here is one of the layouts I started at Creative Accents Saturday night for Tara's b-day crop. I knew I wanted to use this sketch from Sketchy Thursdays:

as soon as I saw it because I had printed out a bunch of small prints the last time I was in the big smoke (Williams Lake, that is, and I know all the Lakers are laughing when I say Williams Lake is the "big smoke"!) I don't know how happy I am with how this turned out. I remember sitting there at 9 p.m. saying, "I've been here working on this for how long? And I've got 3 photos and some strips of paper on my page!" Anyway, once I got it home, I did a bit more work on it, adding the journaling and title and a bit of machine stitching (helps everything stay together!), but I can't help feeling like it needs a bit more pizzazz. On the up side, at least the photos and journaling are really dominant, right?

Supplies: Close to My Heart and Bazzill (?) embossed cardstock, Little Yellow Bicycle patterned paper and pins, Ranger Perfect Pearls Mist and Distress Ink, Maya Road doily, Making Memories alpha stickers, Twinery twine, Creative Memories pen

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Card #11 - Happy Birthday Tara!

It was Tara's birthday yesterday, and I went to Williams Lake for a special birthday crop in her honor. It was great to meet most of the members of the Seriously Creative Design Team, and I was able to see their creative mojo in progress. Let me tell you, "Seriously Creative" is really an understatement! They are FREAKIN' AMAZING!!! Especially with the Copic action! Anyhoo, it's a little humbling to give a card to an accomplished cardmaker like Tara, but I couldn't go empty handed, so this is what I came up with:

It features a Kraftin' Kimmie stamp called... "Roxy"!!! Can you believe it? And since she's a roller derby queen, she MUST be Roxy Rolla! I just had to have this stamp, even though she looks nothing like me, although I dig the hair and the leg warmers - I might be able to pull those two off, but the hot pants are a definite no-go at the mo'! Okay, enough ramblin' about me, more about the card. I used this sketch from Paper Sundaes, but missed the deadline due to our little croppin' party:

I also got to use the new Copics that Jenn sent me, some beautiful YG's! Plus I watched a couple of YouTube videos by Suzanne Dean to tweak my technique. This time I tried to get some highlights in the center of her body, and I think it's looking pretty good. I think this might be my best coloring job yet! I was also inspired by my friend Carole to get out my ol' sewing machine and add some stitching, just to make it a wee bit more special. This will also allow me to enter Some Odd Girl's challenge this week.

Well, weekend's pretty much over. Apparently our new puppy will be arriving next weekend (yikes!) and Jason's going to be in Kamloops most of the week, so let's see if mama can keep the stress level under control! Wish me luck!

Supplies: Close to My Heart and Bazzill cardstock, Cosmo Cricket and Echo Park patterned paper, Kraftin' Kimmie stamp, Memento ink, Copic markers, Close to My Heart pearl, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, unknown die cut flowers

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Layout #48 - Ahoy Landlubber!

I made this cute page for Nolan (about time for a boy page, eh?) using a Page Maps sketch from the summer edition of Scrapbook and Cards Today Magazine, some newer papers, and some older scraps from my stash. I had everything laid out when I got to thinking something was missing, and that's when I thought of adding these Grungeboard skull and crossbones. That idea generated the title! Don't ya love it when things just fall into place like that? And since I used up some more Grungeboard, I am going to link this page up to Scrapbooker's Anonymous - they want to see you use your chipboard stash, so what are you waiting for, you know you have some (or lots)!

Supplies: Imaginisce, American Crafts, Sassafrass, and Cosmo Cricket patterned paper, Bazzill, Prism, and Close to My Heart cardstock, Tim Holtz/Ranger Grungeboard, Distress Ink and Perfect Pearls, Twinery twine, Prima journaling card, Creative Memories pen, Hampton Arts alpha stamps, dollar store date stamp

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Photo Fun Days 27-30 and a Shout-Out!

Hey, remember when I was doing that June Photo Fun Challenge? Well, now that it's September, maybe I should post the rest of what I managed to get. I'm skipping Day 26, which is "Your Favorite Color". I can't even identify a fave color, but it might be lime green. Seems like I'm drawn to that color lately. Day 27 was "Your Weakness". Well, here's mine, chocolate!

I'm not really a chocolate binge eater, which is a good thing, I guess, but I just love to savor a piece of expensive chocolate. This box was a treat from Nolan via my mom, so it was extra special (Nolan's not usually the thoughtful, gift-giving type)!

Day 28 was "Transportation". I found this old truck down the road from our place and snapped this original photo:

It turned out really bright, so I cropped it and tried some effects in Picasa, and this is what I came up with:

Kind of cool, eh? Which one do you like better?

Day 29 was "Trees". I don't really think the trees around here are all that interesting (shhh, don't tell my husband I said that, he's a forester, and very preoccupied with trees!) so this was a tough one for me. One weekend, we made a day trip to Williams Lake and dropped the boys off for a bike ride. Ailis spotted these and said, "Cool, look at the beautiful lichen!" Thanks, Ailis!

And finally, Day 30 - "Family". Well, most of my photos are of family, but it's rare to get a pic of all of us, so I thought I'd include this one, especially since Jason's brother Mike is in there:

The camera was attached to the Gorillapod (cool little tripod, inexpensive and very portable!) and it's amazing that everyone is looking, well, normal! This one was a one-shot deal, and I can't believe it turned out so well!

And finally, a very heartfelt thank you to my bloggy friend, Jenn, who made my day last Thursday! It was kind of a blah day, yucky weather, 101 fights with Nolan, and motivation at about 0 out of 10. I checked my mailbox, and there was a little package from Jenn, with 2 beautiful stamps and 5 (seriously?!?!) Copic markers!!! Nope, I didn't win any blog candy, I'm not sure why she sent them, or what I did to deserve such generosity from someone I've never met, but it sure is appreciated! I was doing a crazy happy dance/squealing combo and Nolan said something like, "This is weird!" Yeah, well, so am I, I guess! Anyway, thanks again, Jenn, you are the best!

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Layout #47 - September Creative Accents Challenge

Are you ready for a brand new challenge over at Creative Accents Challenges? Here it is:

And here is what I came up with!

I worked super hard on this one, I really wanted it to stand out for my first project for my new Design Team position! I used one ribbon to make my photo frame (love that ruffled ribbon, now I'm almost out!) I chose brads and grungeboard as my embellishments - brads to anchor my photo frame and to decorate the patterned paper in the upper right corner, and a Grungeboard swirl (cut in two) and a "6" inked up with Distress Ink, brushed with Perfect Pearls, and then coated with Glossy Accents. I loved that piece of Webster's Pages patterned paper, I bought it at Creative Accents last time I was there with this photo in mind, but then I was stumped - I did NOT know where to go from there. Finally, I decided to trace and cut a matching piece of American Crafts paper to mirror it. I didn't have anything suitable for a background, though, so I made my own by stamping my Hero Arts background stamp in Versamark ink on white paper, heat embossing with clear embossing powder, and then painting over it with a Perfect Pearls/water mixture. It didn't turn out as bright blue as I expected, but after living with it for a day, it's kind of grown on me! A bunch of super sappy journaling, and my page is done! Here's a close-up of some details:

I'm also entering this page over at Scrapbooker's Anonymous, who want to see you use chipboard on your creation. Hopefully Grungeboard counts, because I'm really low on chipboard! Enjoy, and I hope to have you join me this month over at Creative Accents Challenges!

Supplies: Webster's Pages and American Crafts patterned paper, Bazzill and Close to My Heart cardstock, Hero Arts stamp, Versamark ink, Ranger/Tim Holtz Grungeboard, Distress Ink, Glossy Accents, and Perfect Pearls, 7 Gypsies brads, Close to My Heart embossing powder, unknown ribbon

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