It's my life

Got Sketch #91 and Bo Bunny Blog Candy Winner

I was thrilled to be asked again to contribute to the Got Sketch blog for this week's sketch.  The double page sketch class has ended so Valerie will be resuming her normal weekly sketch challenge.  If you have never used one of Valerie's sketches before you really need to.  They make scrapbooking easy.  Just pick your favorite papers and cut.  I also love that you can always put your own spin on your layout as well by just replacing some of the elements with other things or rotating the sketch.

Here is my scrapbook page.  You can see the original sketch on Valerie's Got Sketch blog.  On this layout I used the new October Afternoon paper and embellishments, On the Farm, which you can purchase at Scrapbook Mania if you live near me.  I absolutely loved this line.  Such fun bright colors and simple designs.  

Here are a few tips about this page.  The flowers were hand made using paper diecuts that I cut out with my Cricut.  Plantin Schoolbook has a great selection of flower cuts in the back and I just ran some cream paper through it cutting out flowers in a couple of different sizes.  Then I inked the edges and with the end of a paint brush I curled up the edges of the petals.  Then I layered them on top of each other and attached them together with a brad.  This way of creating flowers is very easy and is all the rage right now. 

You might also notice the journaling inside the cows speech bubble.  It is very easy to write your journaling up in a word processing program, print it out and then attach your journaling card to that paper and run it through the printer again.  I usually hold up both pieces to a bright light so that I can see where to best place the journaling card.  

Well I have been waiting a long time for this weekend to arrive and yeah it is finally here.  Cheryl Mizzetti is coming to Scrapbook Mania this weekend and teaching 3 classes plus will be the guest of honor at our Friday night crop.  You should see the beautiful mini books that she will be helping all of our class participants to make.  I think that there may still be room at the crop so if you would  like more information on that please contact India at Scrapbook Mania.

I would also like to announce the Bo Bunny's Blog Candy Winner.  This was so much fun that I am sure it will happen again.  Tracey please contact me at christineousley@mac.com with your address.  

What an adorable jar! I am loving the peeks at the new collections. So cute!

Posted by: Tracey | October 19, 2009 at 12:09 PM

Rainy Monday

It rained all day yesterday and today it doesn't look much better.  I don't mind the rain when I can stay at home but when you have to go out in it, Yuck.  Plus the temperature has dropped and so it's cold outside as well.  

Besides yesterday this weekend was  filled with tons of fun.  The kids and my hubby went to the high school football game on Friday night. The big rival game between the two high schools in our school district.  (That meant a nice quiet night for me)  My daughter's school made a great showing in the first half 21-0 but then lost 24-21 in the end.  How does that happen I ask?  Oh well, it gave me some time to work on my crafting projects without guilt while they were gone.

Then Saturday night my husband and I went to see Alan Jackson in concert.  I love the little venue that we saw him in.  It's an outside amphitheater and the weather was cool and perfect.  It's only about 7 minutes away from our house so it's so easy to get to.  Even after all of these years his voice is just fantastic.  It was a really great concert and $10 tickets weren't so hard on our pocketbook either.  It was kind of sad to see that the place was not filled.  Maybe it was the college football games that everyone was watching but I think it is more the economy than anything else.  I just hope things start picking up.

So today I am going to show you a card that I created for a sketch challenge at Bo Bunny.  I am proud to say that I created the sketch and if you click here you can see it and all of the other cards that the DT made for the challenge.

 

I can't help loving the Bo Bunny cardstock stickers.  They are very well designed so that the images look 3D.  They are also very easy to create cards with.  Try cutting them apart too for an extra 3D effect.

I hope that you all are having a wonderful Monday.  

xoxo, Christine

Mountain Getaway

Right now I am sitting in a quaint little cafe called Java Mama Cafe in Dillard, Georgia enjoying a very scrumptious strawberry banana smoothie and catching up on my computer because the place we are staying does not have internet access.  I love this area in Georgia and think that it would be a perfect place for a retreat.  I might have to do something about that soon.  

I wanted to share a layout that I created before we left for vacation.  It is based on a sketch from Let's Scrap.  You should check them out.  They have a lot of great challenges and sketches to work on.  They also have prizes to go with the challenges and very kind and lovely people who comment on your work.  Here is a link to my layout on their site.  

The Gypsy line from BoBunny  had the perfect colors and feel to it for the pictures that my father-in-law took on his trip to Italy.  No, I didn't get to go, but I will someday.  I used the papers, 12x12 sticker sheet, the flowers and gems from the line.  I love how everything goes together perfectly. It certainly makes putting a layout together a snap.

I put a couple of different filters on my pictures in Photoshop and turned a couple of them black and white which I think went very well with the bright colors of the papers.  Did you happened to notice the title?  I cut it out using my Cricut with a brand new cartridge that just came out called Winter Woodland.  I saw it at CHA and knew I just had to have it because of all of the adorable images.  You can even cut out an entire 3D village.  It wasn't until I went to buy it that I noticed it had an alphabet on it too.  I love the font and I think that I will use it a lot.

Well I will try to get another post in tomorrow if I can but we will be traveling back home so I don't know if I will be able to or not.

Here is a little Scrapbook Mania news.  We will be having a Stamp Fest at the store from 1-3 on Saturday the 12th.  We will be doing 2 projects and you will learn how to use Just Rite Stamps and Spellbinder dies. The cost is $5 for both projects.  Both my project and Ruth Ellen's will get you all set up for the gift giving season  so please stop by and play.

The next weekend after that we will be hosting our first Cricut Swarm.  There are still a few spots left so call the store for more information if you are interested in attending.  There will be games, prizes, swaps, mini lessons and plenty of time to work on your current projects.  I hope to you and your Cricut there.

Talk again soon. :)

Got Sketch #89

I had the awesome opportunity to be asked to contribute to Valerie Salmon's Got Sketch blog.  Here is my layout.  You can see the sketch here.

Life has been very good to me lately.  So many things are still so in the balance but doors are opening and I just need to keep the faith that those doors will stay open.  I sincerely hope that you  are having as good of a day as I have had. 

Embellish-Online July Blog Hop

Welcome to this month's blog hop for Embellish-Online.  

We're having a Backyard Blast Blog Hop... and you're invited.  We are using a sketch this month for our challenge and of course there will be an awesome prize! 

Now you might notice that it is a layout sketch but this could easily be converted to a card sketch.  Just replace the image and embellishment blocks with a stamped image and disregard the journaling section.  I would love to see what you do with this sketch because I have a special interest it in by being the creator of the sketch  :)

Please post your take on the sketch to the EI Gallery. The keyword will be BLOGHOP1. The design team will be voting on the entries and someone will win a prize pack consisting of American Crafts Backyard products, ribbons and other goodies. 

Here is my layout based on the sketch.  These pictures were taken at Epcot a long time ago when I still lived in Florida.  I can't believe how young my kids look.  It seems like only yesterday.  

Tomorrow the blog hop will continue starting on Michelle's blog.  If you are stopping by here first please make sure that you go back to the beginning on the Embellish-Online blog to see it all.  I have seen some sneak peeks and the other designer's work is gorgeous!!  And don't forget to post your layout or card in the Embellish-Online gallery to be entered in the contest to win the fabulous prize.

Embellish-Online Spotlight

Have you stopped by my favorite little internet store Embellish-Online yet?  They are the nicest people and have all the latest paper from American Craft.  This month I am showcasing the fabulous line from American Craft called Backyard.  The colors are fun and springy and the patterns are adorable.  Butterflies, watermelons, it's perfect for those backyard cookout pages.  

Today though I am actually sharing a card.  I came across this sketch challenge at Sketch Saturday and it just reminded me of water because of the wave so I took this great Stampavie Stamp from Leere Aldrich (yes you can find it at Embellish-Online) and created a fun little scene.  How wonderful it would be to take a bath while butterflies swirled around your head.  Only in Calgon commercials.  :)

I don't know if you can see this or not but I used some Shimmerz and Blinkz on the bubbles and the bathtub.  I also used some silver Shimmerz for the glasses and bracelet.  

Sometimes dimension is not exactly what you want so Shimmerz is the best solution.  It goes on smoothly with a paint brush and it is easy to put in tiny places.

See you tomorrow for more fun stuff.

One card and one layout today

Just a quick post tonight.  I am busy getting ready for a long weekend vacation in the Georgia mountains which also unfortunately means that I will not be having internet access for about 3 days.  I will have to go the coffee house in town to get online so you probably won't be hearing much from me this weekend.  

I have been working on a lot of different things this week but I can't show everything quite yet.  But I do want to share a birthday card that I made for a friend and a layout that I created using a Got Sketch sketch.

This card is for my friend Suzy.  She is on the Embellish Online Design Team with me.  I truly hope that she has a wonderful fun day!

Supplies:  All papers and embellishments can be purchased at Embellish Online.  Just click on the blinkie on my right hand side bar.

Here is a layout that I created using a sketch from Got Sketch 104.  I have been a class member for each of the Got Sketch classes and it just keeps getting better and better.  Do you see the stitching?  I just love this tip that Janna shared.  I have always meant to do this but never got around to.  This sketch gave me just the inspiration that I needed.  I can't believe that Brett is only 5 in these pictures.  He has grown so much.

You can still sign up for Got Sketch if you would like.  It's nice to be on schedule but you don't have to.  Actually this layout is Sketch 2 or 3 so you can totally tell that I am not on schedule.

Well see you next week.  I hope you have a fun weekend.

Got Sketch #86 Playing Along

Valerie has her #86 sketch up on her blog and this week it is a card sketch.  She is an amazing sketch creater and this card sketch#86 was no exception.  As you might know I have been contributing some layouts for her blog using her sketches but this week I am just playing along.  

For this sketch I decided to put down my Copic markers and just go totally paper and embellies.  I also wanted to showcase some of the wonderful American Craft products that they have at Embellish-Online.  It has actually been so long since I have made a card without my Copics I felt a little rusty but before long everything was just fitting into place.  I did have to tweak things a little bit and recut a few times but you all do that too right???

So here is Sketch #86

and here is my card.

I was really happy how it turned out.   

1.  The card base is Stampin Up! cardstock just because their cardstock has such great weight for card making.  

2.  Then I took some American Crafts paper called Twinkle Twinkle and embossed the blue back side of it with tiny dots and rounded the corners.  Can you believe that all of this paper is from AC Baby collection.  Just goes to show how versatile their patterns can be.  

3.  The solid green paper is on the back of the Peek-A-Boo paper.  I ran it through my Big Shot with my scalloped rectangle die.

4.  Next I layered on Mary Quite Contrary.

5.  The scalloped border edge was cut with my Stampin Up! border punch and layered with some more Peek-A-Boo paper and Making Memories ribbon.  

6.  My embellishment was a simple layered stack with a Martha Stewart butterfly punched on top.  Isn't the bling cute on it.  

7.  My last step was to put on my sentiment.  I used the American Craft Thickers called Lullaby in the color Sunflower.  I think the fancy letters just made the card!

All of the American Crafts Baby Collection can be found at Embellish-Online.  They are a wonderful group of ladies and I have had a wonderful time already being on their DT.  Save 20% on your order when you use the word glitter.  Click on the Embellish-Online blinkie on my sidebar to go straight to their site and earn me a little credit. :)

Bad News:  My computer just crashed.  I am quickly finishing up on my other computer so that I can concentrate on fixing it.  Hopefully things will be alright, trying to be positive here, as I have another closeup of my card that I wanted to show you.

Wish me Luck!!!

Got Sketch #85

I wanted to share the layout that I did for Valerie Salmon's Got Sketch? blog, sketch #85.  This sketch was just amazing and I loved using it.  I didn't actually change it up much.  It was just too cute like it was. Some of the other girls did though and I was just amazed by how different all of our layouts looked.  Everyone's layouts were just to die for.  Stop by the blog and check them out and leave a little love and play along.  You can upload your layout in the gallery.  I will be looking out for yours. :)

Here is the sketch.

And here is my layout.

Another suggestion I would make is to check out Valerie's personal blog.  She has some amazing layouts on there using the latest Scarlet Lime kit.  I swear she has more talent in her little pinkie then I do in my whole body.  She is an amazing artist.

I'm the Stampavie Guest DT member for June!

The Embellish-Online bog hop is in full swing so if you have heard yet about it read this post.  It gives all the information that you need to be entered for the grand prize.  All of the "It- Girls" are featuring American Craft paper and Stampavie Sarah Kay stamps.  

It just so happens that the blog hop coincides very nicely with my June Guest Team Designer spot with Stampavie that started yesterday as well. Stampavie is my most favorite stamp company.  They have a wonderful blend of artists that create their stamps.  I just love them all.

My first card for them was posted yesterday on their blog.  I created it for their bi-monthly challenge.  This current challenge involves a sketch.  Great sketch too!  I am posting my card here but please click here to check me out on the Stampavie DT blog, Woo Hoo, and get all the details for the challenge.  The prize is wonderful and if you win you will receive in the most wonderful packaging that Heidi, the store owner creates.  If you check out the blog you will see some of the wonderful things she creates.   Stop back by my blog for lots more Stampavie cards to come. 

For this sketch I cut my circles and scalloped circles with my Nestabilities dies, adhered them together, put them through my Big Shot with my dotted texture plate and then cut it into 4 wedges.  It is pretty  easy to see how I put the rest together.

Supplies:  Stamp:  Rachel Ann Miller for Stampavie; Paper:  Fancy Pants; Cardstock:  SU!; Word Window punch: SU!; Sentiment:  Amy R Stamps; Flowers: Prima; Ribbon: SU!;  Butterfly punch:  Martha Stewart Crafts; Die Cuts: Spellbinders;  Markers:  Copic

Where can you buy Stampavie stamps?  If you live in the Birmingham, Alabama area stop by My Scrapbook Mania.  If you don't you can purchase them at Embellish-Online

We are so getting closer on my blog to the big mystery prize winner.  Here is another little hint about this mystery contest.  It has to do with a big number.  Soon I will be posting a sneak peek of what the winner might receive.