Twisted Sketches #57

Hi everyone. Couldn't be happier that it's Saturday. It's been a very hectic week. Trying not to think of the next few weeks. Too much going on. So much that I will have to schedule in craft time so I can actually make a few magazine submission deadlines. I'm so bummed about the ones I've missed over the last few weeks. Will try not to focus on them and look forward. Now, my mojo just needs to cooperate!

Today is my day on the Twisted Sketches blog. My term is ending soon which means there is a new design team call. You can check it out here. Today is the last day to submit!) So, onto this week's creation with sketch number 57 - the twist is "shine":

Here's a close up. In the background, you can see the Tim Holtz sun burst embossing plate in use. The die cut pieces are glittery - to add more 'shine': 

materials: cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper: MME, Stampin Up; die cuts: SEI; string: Diving Twine; embossing: Tim Holtz

Now it's your turn! To see the sketch and for some more sun-shiny inspiration click here. (The design team really outdid themselves this week!)

One of my favorite things to do every Friday is to read the Friday Favorites blog post by The Scrappy Jedi, aka Melissa - who is an amazing artist and writer. If you haven't read her blog, (subtitled "For the Love of All Things Scrapbooking and Star Wars) you should. In addition to covering all kinds of scrapbook-related topics with awesome detail, she taught me how to put together an Expedit shelf unit with her cool time lapse video. Her photo essay of a recent trip to a Star Wars convention has me inspired to finally delve into the series with my son. (It will be a Star Wars summer here!)  Well, this week she included my cards in her faves and I couldn't be more honored! Thanks Melissa - hope you get your electricity back soon & glad your home was spared the wrath of the awful storms in the South!

Have a great day everyone!

The 'no internet' blues.

No internet in the house for over a week. I love my iPhone but blogging on it is a little tricky. So I fell a little behind on all fronts. Between Easter prep and a heavy schedule at the day job, my crafty time has been minimal to say the least. All I could muster over the weekend were these very simple Easter cupcake toppers:

Simple is probably an understatement here- I think 'oh, it's Easter morning and my guests will be here in 5 minutes' simple is more suitable for this effort. Oh well. People that don't stalk papercrafting blogs don't realize the potential for fabulousness with these things. My people liked them despite their humble & crude construction.

So, have you been to Ella Publishing this week? Have you joined in on the Spring Training?

I plan to jump in this evening and dedicate the next few days to catching up on my training! (Well, training and watching 'the wedding' :) I'm so excited about Wendy's first exercise to discover your true style. Can't wait to dive in, as I always wonder about this. Wendy has a way to figure it out - and I'm all over it! In addition, there have been exercises this week by Angie Lucas, Kelly Willette & Tammy Tutterow.

There are also great prizes, which are open to all challenge participants, registered or not, and there are daily savings on Ella eBooks. Today's discount is for Lisa Dickinson's Design Workshop. Today only, save $1 with the coupon code HAPPYDESIGN.

I hope you all will stop by Ella and try your hand at some of the fabulous and inspiring challenges. Wendy and Angie really put together a great series!

Off to set my alarm clock and hit the hay early for the big wedding tomorrow (coverage starts at 4 a.m. in the U.S.). I'll start watching early at home, then stream it throughout the day at work.
Have a great Friday, everyone!

Sunday At The Studio

About to cook a big Easter breakfast for my family - then head out to the in-laws for dinner, but wanted to check in with my card for this Sunday's challenge at The Studio. We have a sketch challenge this week:

For this card I finally got to use my 'andiamo' stamp from Studio Calico. (andiamo is Italian for 'let's go'). I embossed it with black powder and embossed the airplane (from the same stamp set) with silver.  I cut up the map paper and turned the pieces and sewed them back together.

Here's the close up - you can see the sewing and silver embossing on the airplane a little better here: 

I hope you will play along this week! To see the sketch and see how the design team interpreted it, stop by The Studio.

Happy Easter!

Photo Week at Ella Publishing

Photos...not just for scrapbooking anymore!

I'm turning photos into cards over at Ella Publishing today! My contribution to photo week with the Ella friends. Here are a few little peeks at what I made for my post. Stop by and check out my tips for using your photographs on your card projects. This is a really fun and super easy project :)

materials: patterned paper: My Minds Eye; stickers: SRM; ticket, tape, clip: Tim Holtz; stamps, embossing powder: Stampin' Up; photo turn: 7 Gypsies; twine: Divine Twine

Image removed for publication

Check out Donna's cool photo collage, Monika's photo cube and Francine & Lee's cute & quick journals while your there, too. And have you signed up for Spring Training yet? I did - can't wait to start!

A New FYI Challenge

It's the second Thursday of the month and that means brand new photo inspiration at For Your Inspiration! Stop on by the blog to see another one of Steph's inspiring photos. Here's my project for this week:

materials: cardstock: Core'dinations, Bazzill; ticket, paper clip, safety pin: Tim Holtz; letters: Making Memories; stamp, embossing powder: Close To My Heart; string: Divine Twine; bling: Stampin Up

I used the Core'dinations embossed cardstock to mimic the night sky in the inspiration photo, with a little bling thrown in for good measure. As always, I love seeing how everyone else interprets these photos. The design team did a super job. Check out their work and the photo at For Your Inspiration - hope you'll play along!

TCB Tuesday

I know it's almost not Tuesday anymore...but I've still got a few hours left...

Getting ready for Easter around here, finally. This holiday always sneaks up on me, despite the fact that we spend 1 1/2 months hearing about it in Church. I finally broke out the decorations on Sunday. The look of shock when I told my kids that Easter is on Sunday was priceless. Normally the decorations are out at least a month in advance of the holiday. They are a little perplexed, but happy.

It's so gloomy here this week. It's supposed to warm up but not so sure about the sun making an appearance. I spent the day finishing up a few crafty projects for FYI & Ella Publishing. I also made this Springy tag which is a combined effort for my pal Jan's challenge over at My Sketch World (my favorite part about spring is definitely the flowers) and Paige's Create challenge (which is to use the phrase "if friends were flowers I'd pick you'). These two challenges were begging to be combined!

Used mostly the current Studio Calico kit for this tag and cut those felt flowers with the Big Shot. The love affair continues :)

Finally had a chance to participate in the Get Sketchy challenge and yipee! My card made the Top 5. I'm so excited! Now I get to display these sweet piece of blink-age!

Have you been to the Ella blog this week? Installment #2 of Donna Jannuzzi's Stretch Your Sketches series is up!

I love Donna's sketches and this week Ella friend Monika Wright is playing along. If you play along you could win a great prize. Today the Photo Series starts with some cool photo-based projects. Francine and Lee are kicking off the festivities. (I'm up on Thursday so check me out :)

What else today....? Oh, I decided this week that I will head back to school in the Fall. Our local college, which is where I started my design education back in the 80's (yikes!!) now offers a certificate program in digital drawing for designers and architects. Since my skills are lacking, and I wish to be employed in the future, I will need to learn some new tricks. So off I go. The good thing is that this program is geared towards returning students - so I will likely not be the 'old fart' in the class (or at least not the oldest one). Boy how time flies - feels like I just sat in those classrooms as an 18 year old with no idea what I was doing or where I was going. Should be interesting. I hope I get good grades!

Twisted Sketch #55

Aren't the weeks flying by? Can't believe it's Saturday again. So happy we are headed towards warmer weather but a little sad for the end of school. Can't believe my kids will be in the first & third grades when we head back in the Fall. Why do the 'little' years have to go by so fast?

I'm here today with a new card for Twisted Sketches. This week's twist is "green."

materials: cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper, stickers: Echo Park; twine: Divine Twine; buttons: Joanne's

For this card I dipped into the Echo Park Playground stash. I love this line. So bright and happy. Echo Park can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned!  Instead of stitching through the button holes, I stitched over them. I used a lot of green to make the twist and even stitched in green. I zig zagged to mimic grass at the base of the tree. Here's the close up:

So, to see the sketch and some more great inspiration from the design team stop by the Twisted Sketches blog. We'd love to see how you are inspired by the sketch. And don't forget to have a peek at the design team call while you are there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Good Intentions

Every other Thursday I send in my card for the Twisted Sketch for Saturday. I was so excited that this week I was actually done and photographed ahead of time. So pleased with my promptness, I focused all my creative mojo on a few other projects. Well, as I was getting ready to email my card to Anam, and double checking the sketch number (a task best performed before doing the actual work) I realized the blunder.  As a result, I have this card to show you today - Twisted Sketch # 51 from about 3 weeks ago - whose twist was 'button':

  

materials: cardstock: Bazzill; patterned papers: Crate; tag, tape: American Crafts; button: MME; pearls: Martha Stewart; twine: Divine Twine; embossing: Tim Holtz

How did this not ring a bell to me? Oh well, I love the patterns on this card and the way it turned out. Most of it is from the current Studio Calico kit. Here's a close up: 

As you can see, I'm completely obsessed with the embossing feature of the Big Shot. (How did I get by so long without this machine?) For the ivory part of the card I used a Tim Holtz plaid embossing folder. Isn't that texture amazing? I am apologizing in advance for the multitude of embossed things (and also for paper cut with the Top Note and small flower dies) that will be posted on this blog. I predict there will be many!

And since we are on the subject of Twisted Sketches, have you checked out the design team call? I've had a lot of fun being a part of this team and Anam is a sweetie!
Ok, time to go make another card...fast! Stop back on Saturday to check it out.
Happy Friday everyone!

My Core’dinations Creative Frenzy

I've been a fan of Core'dinations cardstocks for a long time. It started with an addiction to the Whitewash line and now it's the embossed Core Impressions cardstock. In honor of their design team call, I thought I'd share a collection of Core'dinations projects with you today!

First up is a card that won the Get Sketchy Challenge at Moxie Fab last spring - and one of my all time favorite cards. It was even featured on the Core'dinations blog last year:

materials: cardstock: Core'dinations; patterned paper: Studio Calico, Sassafras Lass; letter stickers: Sassafras Lass; sticker: October Afternoon; frame: K & Co; tape: Pink Paislee

This card is a favorite for a few reasons, but the main one is that woodgrain Core'dinations cardstock (that's  Core Impressions, Cosmo Cricket) in the background. My all-time most favorite cardstock ever. I sanded it lightly for this card just to bring up the grain. I love the subtle texture that it adds. I've used this cardstock on many projects. (You can check out another one right here. I used the wood grain cardstock to mimic the boardwalk in the photos on that layout.)  Not surprising that every project this paper goes onto becomes a fave - it's good stuff!

Next up is a little shadowbox project. Inspired by the printers trays I've been seeing lately, and a collection of vintage puzzle pieces I picked up at a yard sale, I put together this little piece of wall decor for my daughter's room. It features a variety of lightly sanded Core'dinaitons textures (Core Impressions & Whitewash). I rubbed a small amount of white acrylic paint onto the outer frame to bring up the woodgrain in the cardstock:

materials: cardstock: Core'dinations; patterned paper: Crate, Cosmo Cricket for Studio Calico; chipboard, wood accent: Maya Road; tag: American Crafts; twine: Divine Twine; ticket, pin, tape: Tim Holtz; word die cuts: K & Co.; mist: Studio Calico; buttons: Pebbles, Crate; flag: Niki Sivils; matte medium, white paint: Liquitex

I made my own box by turning a wood wall box from the craft store over and using the space in the back. I made the dividers with chipboard covered in Core Impressions and Tim Holtz paper tape. Here it is in its early stages:

and here are a some of the final details - love that woodgrain Core'dinations behind the cow and the "M":

I used acrylic matte medium to adhere the papers to the box. This is a great all-over 'glue' that is superb for collage projects and has a matte finish. I pulled most of the patterns from my current Studio Calico kit, including one piece of packaging (can you tell which piece is the packaging?).

And last but not least, a layout. Second to the woodgrain is definitely this cursive alphabet cardstock. The black is particularly awesome when sanded to reveal it's white core:

materials: cardstock: Core'dinations; patterned paper, stamp, stickers: Studio Calico; letters: Basic Grey, Jenni Bowlin; embossing powder: American Crafts

I love the contrast of the white texture on the black base - it makes using a black cardstock as a base less intimidating. I added a little splash of paint to reinforce the contrast. Doesn't it look like a chalkboard?

Thanks for stopping by  - hope I've inspired you today to break out your Core'dinations stash (and your sandpaper, too :)!

It's Baby Week at Ella Publishing

It's a big week at Ella Publishing! In addition to the announcement of their fab Spring Training series (you can see Angie and Wendy explain it all right here) it's 'baby week' on the blog and the Ella Friends have a series of baby gifts and products. I get to kick it all off with this little mini album for a baby girl:

materials: chipboard album: Maya Road; cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper: MME, Basic Grey; letters: American Crafts, Jenni Bowlin; ribbon: Little Yellow Bicycle; stamp, tag: Stampin Up; pearls: Martha Stewart; pin: Tim Holtz; die cuts: Big Shot

I know filling a big 12 x 12 scrapbook can be overwhelming to a non-scrapbooker (especially one that is also a new mom) so I like to make minis for them instead. I kept the concept for this simple: 12 mini layouts, each for one of the first 12 months of the baby's new life. Each layout has lined paper on the left to jot notes or milestones. On the right there's room for a small picture or two. The book starts out with an 'on the day you were born' page to jot down a few notes or vital statistics.

You can see some more of this mini over at the Daily Trumpet and be sure to stop by every day this week for a new project each day. Can't wait to see what the Ella Friends have up their sleeves!

Ella Publishing Spring Training

Ella's super duper Spring Training extravaganza is coming to a computer near you very soon - and registration starts today!

● Four expert coaches (Angie Lucas on journaling, Wendy Smedley on inspiration, Tammy Tutterow on techniques, and Kelly Willette on photography)
● 12 exclusive videos (one per day) featuring coached training exercises (watch for 10 minutes, "exercise" for 10 minutes)
● A daily layout challenge based on the daily exercise
● Daily giveaways from our event sponsors (including Big Picture Classes, Jenni Bowlin, Little Yellow Bicycle, and more)
● Exclusive downloads and offers
● Access to the videos for a full 60 days after the event ends

If you sign up this week and you can enjoy all of the above for 20% off the list price! (There is no charge to participate in the daily layout challenge and giveaways). Stop by the Ella Publishing blog The Daily Trumpet for all the details. See you there!

Sunday at The Studio + a giveway

A giveaway - just because!
But first, The Studio challenge for this week (they are kind of related). This weeks challenge was to use a recycled item on a card. I had 2 ideas for this challenge. Here is my 'official' entry for the challenge:

Can you tell what the recycled thing is? It's that grid paper. It's the packaging from a K & Co. product. I've used this stuff before. I love the pattern and the color. I ran it through a die cutter (not just any die cutter, my beloved Big Shot :) to cut the shape:

and here's a close up:

When I tell you I am in love with that Big Shot, it's an understatement. (I used  it for the bracket shape, the flowers and the buttons on this card.) I know die cutting is far from new to the world of scrapbooking and cardmaking. I wonder why it took me so long to discover it? While I love my Silhouette I am loving the ease at which I can just cut a shape with the B.S. No plugs, no computer, no software, no dull blades. Just crank the handle. So satisfying :)

Here's the 'back up' card. (Also know as my entry for Get Sketchy Card Challenge #82  - I was totally inspired by the layering on that sketch :) I really wanted to reuse the button card from a pack of MME buttons (I've got a few of them saved for this purpose) along with my new button embossing die (again with the Big Shot abuse) so that's what I did. I think it got a little busy, though:

So, now I want you to play along! If you need more inspiration, check out what the design team has done this week. All great options for adding a little recycled product to your cards. And if you do participate, you get to be in the random drawing for this:

This is a collection of things from some pub boxes that have recently arrived - there's some My Little Shoebox papers & transparencies, some cute Doodlebug, Maya Mists, a couple of Tattered Angels mists and a cool Maya Road canvas tag album. I'd like to share the love but I want to see your recycled cards. So, in addition to being part of the Studio's monthly prize drawing (sponsored by Scrap With V), you could win this too! Just let me know if you play along by leaving me a comment here telling me you did. I'll draw a winner in 2 weeks - when the next card challenge goes up.
Have a great Sunday!

The Food Wrap Challenge at Moxie Fab

Have you been following the challenges this week on the Moxie Fab blog? They are doing all kinds of fun stuff in honor of the release of  Paper Crafts 350 Cards & Gifts:

It's a really fun issue and it's chock full of extremely cute projects. I've been looking forward to sharing this tag, which I'm excited to see is featured on the Moxie Fab blog today:

This is where the start of my stick pin and paper flag obsession began. I used some Claudine Hellmuth stamps for the houses. The clouds are from Studio Calico and the sentiment is Practicing Creativity. The papers are Basic Grey.(I happen know my pal Jan is hosting a tag challenge this week for My Sketch World - maybe a little combination Moxie Fab/tag challenge entry is in order?)
Would love to see what you come up with for this challenge - if you link it up over at Moxie Fab  you could win a copy of this great issue!

For Your Inspiration

It's Thursday (for me, again ;) and that means it's time for another photo challenge at the For Your Inspiration (FYI) blog. Steph always finds the most amazing photos and this week was no exception. Here's a little sneak peek:

It's beautiful, but I was seriously challenged by this photo. So much so, that I uploaded my card then took it down to fix it. Here is my 'final' revised card:

materials: cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper: Studio Calico; letters: Basic Grey; ribbon Making Memories; pin: Tim Holtz

I tried to not be so literal and see the photo as bands and blocks of color. Hence the horizontal lines. I thought the chevron kind of looked like little roofs, the slanted type in the top pattern like the vertical lines of the mountains. The green map called to mind terrain & the color of the trees. The mix of blue layers the water and sky.

I don't usually post the rejects or revisions, but I will today. Here is the first version of my card:

The type and thin string just die on all this pattern. Even though they were sewn down, I peeled off the letters (waaaah, I hate wasting letters) and then I cut off the string. I had to add the kraft panel so the type would be visible. I think I improved it. I only wish I had varied the width of the strips a little more.

So, ready for this challenge? Stop by the FYI blog to see the entire photo and be inspired by the beautiful work of the design team. I'm always amazed at how our interpretations vary.

Now I need to stalk the UPS person - I know Studio Calico is coming today, wonder if Stampin' Up will arrive too? I've also got a twine order en-route. Could be the holy trinity of UPS deliveries today!

It's Wednesday?

Did you ever have one of those days where you go through the whole day thinking it's the next day? I did that today. I've been thinking it's Thursday all day, but it's Wednesday. Ok, now that I've got that settled...

Yesterday I dropped off my projects to Scrapper's Cove and learned some things about my new Big Shot. Mainly, all the dies they sell at Scrapper's Cove work in the machine - Quickcutz, Sizzix, Spellbinders.... This is good news, because it makes my new toy way more versatile. And it's bad news because now I might have need to shop the 'wall of dies' which I have comfortably ignored for the last 5 years! Here it is - it has a clever wall that slides to reveal more dies behind it, plus there are dies stacked on the shelves below:

Lots of die cutting goodness to be had at here. I picked up these 2 numbers...one is a Quickcutz ring border which has endless possibilities. It makes a great border but also a bunch of cool negative cuts. I also got a Tim Holtz embossing folder that makes an embossed dress pattern and stitches. (I've had my eye on that one!) The embossing possibilities are especially appealing to me. I love the idea of texture on a project:

As promised, here's another one of my Echo Park layouts. This is another Springtime layout. I should have used a more contrasting thread so the stitching was more visible.

here's a close up:

Now I've got a great big pile of SEI to work on for the Scrapper's Cove. More store samples to make from two fresh new lines...

...that's Sunny Day & Couture. Aren't they pretty? I've always loved SEI. I love the graphic prints and the b-sides are pretty great, too. Looking forward to diving in!

Ella Friend Donna Januzzi is hosting a new sketch challenge series on the Ella blog - The Daily Trumpet.

Donna's sketches are the best - (the first ones I ever used!)  Visit the blog every 1st and 3rd Monday of the month from now through September for the Stretch Your Sketches Challenge Series. You'll see a brand new sketch and layouts created by Donna from the sketch.  Each week one of the Ella Friends will join in to stretch the sketch and create another layout based on that same sketch so you'll get double the inspiration!  Each month you can join in the fun by making your own layouts based on the sketches presented to be eligible for some great prizes. Sounds fun, right?

Because tomorrow is Thursday (and not today :) there will be a new challenge up at For Your Inspiration. Be back then!

TCB Tuesday...with a little Echo

Have to apologize for being a little laxed in the posting department. I'm making an effort to get back on track this week. March was a crazy month - lots of  trips to the doctor with my kids, attended 2 wakes, lots going on at work. Lots of twists and turns. Glad it's over now.

I finally wrapped up the Echo Park projects for the Scrapper's Cove and actually have some time set aside today to deliver them. This first one is with For The Record and not my usual linear style:

It is extremely rare for me to tip photos and elements on angles. I was completely uncomfortable doing this but just felt like doing something different. That little person in the photos is me, along with my mom - back in the summer of 1969, I was about to turn 3. (He's an amazing photographer :)

 Here's a Springtime layout - happily back to my right angles:

I made that flower with a Cosmo Cricket Gluber. I have to say, the idea of the Gluber did not instantly appeal to me because I'm not a big fan of really thick embellishments - but now I'm converted. They are so easy to use and they stick like crazy. (That fabric is by Stampin' Up - more on that in a few...doesn't it look nice with that paper line?)

 I've got 2 more Echo Park layouts I'll share tomorrow.

No trip to Scrapper's Cove would be complete without a little shopping. Hopefully, I'll keep the whole thing under control, as I just placed a large order with my Stampin' Up rep. You see, I got a screaming deal on this at the 'Cove' a few weeks ago:

...and I don't own a single die. It's been sitting near my desk all shiny, black & pink waiting to be used. Well, I ordered several dies and embossing folders from Stampin' Up but they haven't arrived yet. I don't know how I'll resist the instant gratification/impulse buy urge that I will face in the shop today. I know they've got some cool Tim Holtz dies and who knows what else. Once I purchased my Silhouette several years ago, it never occurred to me that I would want or need a traditional die cutter. Where to get the dies or which ones will work in the machine is still a mystery to me. All I know is I can cut the thick stuff with this, and fabric and felt, too. That's why I got it. And that is what I plan to do!! I can't wait to cut some stuff! (Who's got one of these? Do you love it or use it much?)

Not much else going on this week. Oh, did you hear Twisted Sketches is having a DT call? My term is about to end and Anam is looking for a new group of card makers. It was a ton of fun being on her team - she is a sweetheart and I highly recommend trying out if you like to work with sketches.

Back tomorrow with some more Echo Park layouts. Have a great day!

Twisted Sketch Saturday

My week on the Twisted Sketches challenge blog and this week both the A & B teams are participating. Today's twist is 'fun' - in the immortal words of (the original) Arthur Bach "isn't fun is the best thing to have!" I made 2 cards:

image removed for publication

For this one, I used last month's Studio Calico kit (Candy Shoppe) along with some Creative Imaginations stamps. And here's the back up card:

This is mostly MME Stella & Rose. Love that line and the weight of those MME papers. To see the sketch and for a major dose of design team inspiration, stop by Twisted Sketches - we'd love to see your interpretation!

Have you seen this?

Anam, founder of Twisted Sketches developed these great iPhone apps for card and layout sketches and she's looking for designers to be part of the next edition. Sketches for Cards & Sketches to Scrapbooks are great tool if you don't already have them. You can pick them up here.

Looking forward to taking it easy this weekend. The weather is supposed to get a little nicer so hopefully, we'll get to spend some time outside. The severe winter has trashed our front & back yards. I'm fine with basic clean up but I'm not a fan of gardening. I appreciate beautiful plantings and flowers and nice landscaping, I just don't want to have anything to do with it's creation!
Have a great weekend!