Skip to content

Creativity Book Camp: Drizzle & Final California Layouts

  • by

This proved to be one of the most difficult prompts. I didn’t want to photograph rain (although it was forecast for today), and this morning decided I use honey drizzling into tea. Easier said than done. I took a ton of photos (and needed Tracy’s help to hold the honey dipper). I got only three decent shots. This one is my favorite:

Drizzle3w

I have finally finished the California album. I still need to do a little piece for the album cover, but the last of the layouts is finished. Here’s the title page. I couldn’t decide quite what to do, but ended up using a Cathy Z. digital template to do a summary layout.

TitleLO

Cardstock: BoBunny; patterned paper: Queen & Co.; epoxy button: Queen & Co.; digital template: Cathy Z’s “Monthly”; digital paper: freebie from Katie Pertiet of Designer Digitals

This is the last of the “story” pages. When we were in Pleasanton one afternoon, I bought Sadie a new ball. To say she was disinterested, is putting it mildly. Then Sarah got the idea to put some peanut butter inside the ball. Well, Sadie’s interest certainly perked up!

FeedMe
I love these little dogs from a piece of Basic Grey “June Bug” paper. All the rest of the papers are Scenic Route as are the alphabet stickers.

Papercrafting

  • by

I have a couple more pages to share as well as some cards I made for my friend who is retiring. I’m sure she’ll need a supply of thank you notes so I made two of each design and packaged them up in a clear plastic box.

3Cards
Cardstock: Vintage Cream (PTI), blues from stash; patterned paper: “Wisteria” (Basic Grey); stamps: Fillable Frames #4, Delightful Dahlias, & Mega Mixed Messages (PTI)

Package
I have these wonderful plastic boxes, but I have no idea where I purchased them. They are perfect for a set of cards. Add a ribbon, flower and a gem and it’s done.

The first of the layouts I did in a Basic Grey class at CKC Buffalo. I’m not a fan of doing pages without the photos but when I was going through the pile of photos from California these seemed to work. The page layout from the class included multiple tags which I eliminated.

WalkWithSadieLO
Patterned papers: Basic Grey; Spellbinders tag die; buttons (PTI)

One of the best things about staying in California for a week is the time we have to just hang out together.

JustHanginLO
Patterned paper: Making Memories, & “Weathervane” October Afternoon; stamps: Trajan alphabet (PTI) on Sticky Back canvas (Ranger); canvas alphabet: “Fa La La” Making Memories; journaling sheet: Making Memories, sticker “Urban Prairie” (Basic Grey); Spellbinders Standard Tag; buttons (PTI); digital template “Photo Clusters No. 12” (Katie Pertiet @ Designers Digitals

Creativity Boot Camp: Fly

  • by

The truth is I hate to fly. My family will attest I am not at my best on the day of a flight. I fly because it gets me where I want to go, but I would much rather drive—even across the country. That, of course, is not often practical and is, in fact, as expensive as flying. One way I entertain myself as we take off is to take photos. Once we’re in the air, I rely on compelling books (must be a page turner) and crossword puzzles.

NYC2
The New York City Harbor in March.

I like the horizon and the deepening blue sky in this one taken over the Rockies on the same flight. 

Mountains1 

There was an inspiring post on Write, Click, Scrapbook this week that I finally got around to reading this morning. Since I had a little time before I went to the retirement luncheon, I pulled the photos from my photo walk into a template and finished the layout this afternoon. I decided against any journaling, but put the class title and date of the photo walk on the back of the layout. It doesn’t get much simpler than this.

PhotoWalkLO
Paper: Ambrosia (Basic Grey); chipboard letters: “Licorice” (Cosmo Cricket); chipboard camera: “Mama Razzi” (Bo Bunny); digital template: Pri Rocha Designs

Still Crafting

  • by

In between working on the prompts for Creativity Bootcamp, taking care of the garden, going to a wonderful photography show featuring local women photographers, volunteering, and the usual exercise classes and chores, I’ve managed to get some cards and layouts made. The first is a card for a friend who is retiring this year. There’s a luncheon for her on Saturday. I’m hoping to get a set of thank you notes made to give to her as well.

JBCongrats
This card was inspired by a card by Jennifer Buck featured on the Jillibean blog. All the products used on it are from Jillibean except the card base and the ribbon.

And another one because I had more paper on the desk to use.

SendingSunshine
Patterned paper: Old World Cabbage Stew (Jillibean); rickrack: Bean Stalks (Jillibean); sentiment: clear stamps (Jillibean); dies: Spellbinders cherry; embossing folders: Cuttlebug “Swiss Dots” & Sizzix “Birthday Set #2

SunshineView2
And three more layouts for the California album:

FamilyPhotoLO
All Pink Paislee “Starlight”

MattSadieLO
All “Mama Razzi” by BoBunny except for the stamp (which it looks like I’d better redo–a bit slanted, I fear)

And my favorite of the three is about our walk along the stream at the UC Davis Arboretum:

Arboretum 

Patterned paper: Fruitcake (Basic Grey), Basics (Basic Grey) & “Today” (Scenic Route); cork alpha (unknown); Craft Paper alpha stickers (Colorbok); label stickers: Basics (Basic Grey); digital template: Cathy Z Layered Template No. 13

Multilayered: Take Two

  • by

Part 1:

The prompt for Creativity Bootcamp today was multilayered. After a bit of consideration I decided to photograph the roses blooming right outside our dining room door. My first inclination was to play with light today, so I started taking a photo every hour or so. I had to take a break for a dermatologist appointment and while I was driving had another idea:  to show how the multilayered rose unfolds. So here is the triptych I came up with. I tried a few actions, but decided I liked the simply sharpened photos the best.

RosesTriptychw 

Part 2:

Last night I finished a layout for the vacation album that was an “out of the box” design for me, but one that I see frequently on blogs and admire. When I finished I was quite pleased with the final product. This morning during my coffee/blog browsing hour I came across Layle Koncar’s article at Ella Publishing. She’d read a pamphlet about decorating that suggested three things to consider when mixing patterns. Layle boiled it down to this:

  1. Have an odd number of patterns
  2. Include a solid
  3. Include a stripe

I was curious and checked. Indeed, that’s exactly what I had. Perhaps that was why I liked it so much. See what you think:

In&OutLO

Cardstock: American Craft; patterned paper from scrap drawer; chipboard embellishment: “Mama Razzi” (BoBunny); pin: unknown (purchased at a stationery store in Ithaca a couple of years ago); digital frame: “Framed no. 3” (two shutter sisters)

It fits the multilayered prompt as well. A bit of serendipity.

Have To Have

  • by

We spent one day in California in Pescadero and Half Moon Bay. One of our favorite shops in Half Moon Bay was the “Have to Have It” shop. We spent a lot of time there, but didn’t buy anything. Since we’ve come home, Matt and I have decided we should have bought one of the flying pig sculptures for our garden. If I ever go back, I think I will pick out a small one and ship it home. I’m partial to the red one and the blue one.

HalfToHave2pg
Patterned paper: Basics (Basic Grey), Quite Contrary (MME), & Bitty Dot Basics (PTI), cardstock: Rustic White (PTI), chipboard circle (Scenic Route); chipboard wings (unknown); Vintage Calendar Tag (Elle’s Studio)


HaveToHavep1 


HaveToHavep2

A Productive Day is Always a Good Day

  • by

Some days I seem to get so much more done than others. Yesterday was a good day.

I paid bills. I balanced my checkbook.

We visited the garden. Sad to say the slugs are eating our beans and ate all the lettuce seedlings. 

Slugs&Beansw

The tomatoes, peppers, squash, and cucumbers are doing well.

ZuchinniBlossomw
Zucchini Blossom

FirstTomatow
First Tomato

I went to the dentist to have my temporary crown removed and the permanent one put on. The crown didn’t fit as well as the dentist wanted, so it had to go back to the lab, so I have yet one more dental appointment next week.

I cleaned my desk.

I worked on the daily crossword.

I made 15 gift card holders. June 13th is Advisor Appreciation Sunday, and I am the chair of the Youth Ministry Committee. We are blessed with a dedicated Youth Ministry Director as well as advisors for the junior and senior highs in our church.

GiftCardHolders

All made from scraps in my scrap files.

I made a scrapbook layout.

CornHoleLO

Core’dinations (Jenni Bowlin) cardstock, sanded lightly; black cardstock from scraps; patterned paper: Bitty Box Basics (PTI); Jenni Bowlin Banner Stickers in red and black.

I took Matt to dinner at The Tap and Mallet since Tracy had a dinner-time meeting at church. We finished the crossword puzzle while we enjoyed our beers.

I ironed curtains and got them rehung. Ironed a few other pieces as well.

I read blogs and was surprised to find one of my Weekly Gratitude pages featured on the Weekly Gratitude blog. I had no idea they ever checked my blog.

I read some more of Making Toast, the library book which I just picked up two days ago. It is wonderful, but a real emotional roller coaster.

Maybe today will be just as good!

More Vacation Layouts

  • by

I’m still working on layouts for our California trip in March. I want to get it finished this month. Here are two more:

PrincessLO
Patterned paper: Penny Lane & Bohemia (MME); cardstock: Worldwin Light Pink; Glitter paper (American Craft); stamp: crown (Inkadinkado); tags: Spellbinders Standard Tags; rickrack die (PTI); gems and ribbon from stash

Here’s a two-pager I pieced together as best I could. This paper is definitely much busier than what I usually choose, but Disney seems to draw me to brighter and busier layouts.

DisneyIntro2pg
Patterned paper: Creative Imaginations; cardstock: Worldwin Medium Red & Summer Sunrise (PTI); 3-D embellishments: Creative Imagination

Papertrey Pixies Challenge

  • by

A month or so ago, I joined a group of 15 women on the Papertrey Ink forum. We have our own blog, and this month was our first challenge which was to stamp a background paper. I almost never stamp on a scrapbook layout although one of the women in this group does it regularly, and very well. I recently purchased “A Little Argyle” stamp set and thought it would be the perfect photo mat for this picture of Matt on his birthday, wearing his favorite argyle sweater. Nothing like putting it off until the very last day of May!

Matt@27
Patterned paper: Basics (Basic Grey); letter stickers: Basics (Basic Grey) & Times (Prima Marketing), stamps: A Little Argyle (PTI); photo mat: Gretel (Cosmo Cricket)

Scrap-Mart Challenge

  • by

I added another layout to our vacation album this week in response to a challenge Jenn posted at Scrap-Mart. They’re getting ready for a wedding in her family so the challenge was to use “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” in your layout.

MorroBay 

Something Old:  SEI alpha stickers, Something New: Pink Paislee Starlight patterned paper and stickers, Somthing Borrowed: photo collage from a digital template by Kitty Designs, and Something Blue: navy cardstock.

The Getty Center

  • by

This was one of the first layouts I did for our vacation album, but it was just posted on the Scrap-Mart blog this week so I waited to post it here. Scrap-Mart, by the way, has an exclusive Spellbinder Nestibility label die available for pre-order. Nestibilities are one of my favorite dies, and I especially love the labels.

The Getty Center is one of the most amazing places we’ve visited in California. We spent about 3 hours there and barely scratched the surface of what there is to see. There are five different museum buildings (we only got through the photography museum) and fabulous gardens. The architecture is also worth the visit as are the views of LA and surrounding areas from the top of the hill where The Getty Center is located.

Getty2pagesw 

GettyPg1 

GettyPage2 

Cardstock (American Craft); patterned paper (American Craft “Dear Lizzy;” journaling spot (Jillibean); buttons (Sassafras Lass); alpha and brackets (American Craft Thickers)

Gardens

  • by

I hope you had as much fun as I did on yesterday’s international House Party Blog Hop. I loved seeing how themes were chosen and embellishments used; I got a lot of good ideas.

I’m slowly getting the layouts done from our California trip. Here is one about Sarah’s garden that we helped her plant while we were there.

SarahsGardenLO 

All Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety papers and chipboard except for the Basic Grey Ambrosia alpha stickers.

Journaling reads:  Sarah asked for an early birthday gift while we were visiting. She wanted to take advantage of her dad’s and brother’s expertise. She found a fabulous nursery nearby & we spent a morning exploring and buying flowers, vegetables and pots since she can’t dig into their rental property. She ended up with a great variety & hopefully, she’ll have lots of flowers and veggies to pick on her birthday in August.

And we hope to have a vegetable garden this summer as well. Our yard is heavily shaded and my attempts at growing tomatoes in a pot have been pretty disappointing. When I read that our town’s Community Garden was taking applications for new plots, I got my application in right away. We now have a 10×10 plot. Yesterday was a Community Garden Work Day. Tracy and I tied the fencing to the posts around the entire garden and got a start on weeding our little plot. It’s going to take some work before it’s ready for the plants. Traditionally, it’s not safe to plant here until Memorial Day, but it’s been so warm this spring we may try to get them in a week or two early.

 

GardenWorkersw 


TyingTheFencew 


GardenPlot2_5.1w

Scrapping California

  • by

I took time yesterday to get some more pages done for our recent trip to California. I think I would have liked to have done more with digital templates, but since I had the photos printed I’m trying to use them. Like our album for the cross-country trip last summer, there will be layout pages, and pages of just photos. I’m hoping to find a red, three-ring album at Hobby Lobby tomorrow.

GettyGardensLO 

All the papers and embellishments are My Minds Eye; American Craft thickers “Rockabye-leaf”

RidingTeaCupsLO

American Craft cardstock; Queen & Co. patterned paper, SEI alpha stickers (my favorites!)

KeySuccessLO

Patterned paper, report card & alphabet stickers: Jillibean; I hand-cut the key.

I think I have finally figured out how to post these so you can make them bigger by clicking on the images.

A Second Party Layout

  • by

This challenge was to use two 4×6 photos in the layout. Sarah, Matt, & Tracy had a great time at California Adventure Land. Most of the rides weren’t for me as I’m terribly afraid of heights. But I enjoyed sitting in the sun and taking photos of them having a great time on the rides.

NotForEveryone

Photographing a 12×12 layout is one of the most challenging tasks. No way can I get them perfectly straight. The journaling reads: “There’s no way anyone could get me on a ferris wheel of any kind, let alone one where the cars swing back and forth as it goes around. I’m way too afraid of heights, but it doesn’t seem to be a trait either Matt or Sarah inherited. They had a great time, and I did enjoy watching them!”

Yellow cardstock from stash; red cardstock: BoBunny; Star accents from a Queen & Co. patterned paper; glitter alpha: Colorbok (and they were a real pain to use!)

Shimelle’s Party

  • by

I missed most of Shimelle‘s party, but finally had time tonight to get one layout done. If I’m lucky I’ll get another one done before it gets too late. As soon as I saw this sketch I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Finding all the right papers took a little longer than I expected. This is my favorite family photo from our trip to California last month.

HappinessIs 

Cardstock:  American Craft & Jeni Bowlin Core‘dinations; patterned paper: Scenic Route; American Craft alpha stickers; “family:” Making Memories Slice Words & Expressions cartridge; word sticker from stash.