God Bless Good Hair Days!

Sup!
Okie Dokie. My last layout of September is God Bless Good Hair Days! I pay homage to the occasional day when I look in the mirror halfway through my day and don't grunt in disgust.

This LO gave me fits from the very beginning. The finished layout looks NOTHING like the sketch I originally drew out, nor are the papers and embellishments what I had initially chosen either. I gotta say though, overall, while it wont ever make my favorite layout, its not one is really dislike either.

Because I didn't use a lot of different embellishments I wanted to give what I did use texture and interest. The metal elements hopefully give it that. I used pop dots on the paper die cuts to lift them off the page. I did put a little wooden chic down at the bottom but I usually try to add wood to every one of my layouts too.

Supplies Used:
Paper - My Minds Eye - Nostalgia
Embellishments: MME paper die cuts, stickers, brads & washi tape. Industrial Chic metal charm. Paper Studio decorative paperclip. MT washi tape.

Well, there ya have it.

You Give Me OFL's Guest Designer Challenge

Sup!
This week over at Colorful Creations they have another guest designer, Wendy Morris. You can check out her blog here. I love her style, it is right up my alley. She designs for a lot of great companies, teaches, is published and most importantly is a southern girl. I suspect she may root for the Crimson Tide but I can overlook that. At any rate, she is doing a sketch challenge which looks like this:

Here is my take on it:

I did deviate some while still keeping the overall integrity of the sketch. I used one panel across the lower half instead of three and my picture orientation was different so there was accounting for that. I also wanted to put everything at an angle.

The title references an acronym I made up for Overwhelming Feelings of Love. That feeling you get when you look at someone or something you love that overtakes you for a moment. OFL's. Elwood does that for both Keith and I.
The banner is Maya Road canvas banners that I misted in those colors. I used Studio Calico wood veneer hearts that I misted red. The LO is a little on the soft and kidlike side but I like it overall.

Materials Used:
Papers - October Afternoon, Cakewalk
Mists - Mr. Hueys, Tattered Angels, and Luminarte.
Embellies - Maya Rd. canvas banners and doilies. Studio Calico wood veneer hearts. Basic Grey stick pins. Tag and ribbon from Michaels.
Well, there ya have it!

Colorful Creations Guest Designer Sketch Challenge

Sup!
Okay, September's Guest Designer over at Colorful Creations is Yuka Hino. You can check out her blog here. She is amazing. Her layouts are so intricate. At any rate she provided Colorful Creations with a sketch challenge. Here is the sketch:

Here is my take on the sketch:

This is Them Saubert Kids. My Uncle Jim, Aunt Mary and the little one there is my mom. I'm guessing this was taken on Easter (back then picturies were only taken on special occasions) circa 1954 since my mom looks about 5 here. They were still living in NYC then.

The picture does not do a good job of conveying how handsome my Uncle Jim ended up being. I don't know which is worse, those ears, that horrible over Brylcreamed hair or that ill fitting jacket. I guess it all works together to create this, I gotta say it, nerdy image. My Aunt Mary, whom I believe to be the most beautiful lady to ever grace the planet, manages to look pretty even though she seems mad here. This is probably one of the last pictures my mom smiled in for 15 years. She is not a fan of smiling in pictures. She looks sweet here but she is really about as feisty as they come.

I went with a heavily distressed look and I wanted the title to convey something a neighbor might say. "Those Saubert kids are out playing again." Something like that. I didn't do much in the way of special techniques but do like the way it turned out overall.

Materials Used:
Papers - EP - Times & Seasons Collection (Great collection if you want something with an old timey feel that isn't too feminine.
Stick pins - Maya Road
Flowers - Jolee's Boutique for the 2 cloth ones and the crocheted one is Colorbok Victorian Parlor.
Paper Die Cuts - Maya Road and My Minds Eye.
The Clip on the photo is Tim Holtz and the paper clip on the journaling card is Paper Studio.

There ya have it.

Sketchabilities #75 AKA Manly Man Layout! Arg!

Sup! Okay, I would have finished this layout WAY sooner except that I have been battling a toothache all week. Bummer man. Anywho, This is a layout of Keith's friend Martin (pronounced Mar-In) who Keith has known since high school. Mar-In, mostly referred to as Brotone, came to visit us just before Christmas this past year and stayed for a few months.
Don't let the length of time fool you, it was a wonderful visit, in no way intrusive. Brotone has a long haul shipping business. People buy cars in one state and need them transported to where they live and people like  Brotone haul them. Because he does so much traveling he has his own camper. We could not get him to sleep in the house no matter how we tried. He would come in to visit sure, but apart from getting coffee and taking a shower in the house, he kept to his own digs. I had to force him to give me his laundry to do. I watched that boy dump all his clothes into the washer once and could not take it. He now knows my obsession with clean, smell good laundry.
Well, that was a rant wasn't it. When Brotone left all he left behind was his note, the coffee cup he used and his shower scrubbie. I took a pic of it and this layout was born.
I used Sketchabilities sketch #75 as a starting point:

My take on the sketch looks like this:

I did not follow the sketch too closely as I don't usually make layouts with a lot of pics. 3 is about the most I will use. I also needed this to be  a manly layout, since Brotone is one manly dude so no flowers either.

I think I nailed the manly, burlyness at any rate.
I am going to start listing supplies used a little differently.
Paper - Kaisercraft Little Miss Missmatch and Sears & Son.
Letters - Prima
Embellies - Basic Grey metal pins, Industrial Chic metal accents. Kaisercraft poloroid thingies.
Stamps - PaperArtsy

This is my first time using Kaisercraft and I rather like their papers. If you have not used PaperArtsy stamps then check them out. GREAT stamps. They leave wonderful impressions. You would think you were using wood stamps. Industrial Chic is cool, I usually find their stuff in jewelry sections of craft stores but their stuff lends itself to scrapbooking as well.

Well, there ya have it.

All Because Its Carnival Time!

Sup!
This Layout I created is of my long time friend Lorna and her daughter Jewell. This picture was taken during a visit to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. We both used to live in NOLA, in fact we were roomates for a long time but now I am here in AZ and she is in a small town in Louisiana. I am making a scrapbook for her that I hope  to send to her for Christmas.

Hey! Cool Pinwheels! LOL, they worked nicely for the LO but this also gets me in a challenge over at Colorful Creations. Their monthly project challenge for September which is pinwheels.
Okay, so the layout itself is a sketch challenge over at Sketch Inspiration. Here is the sketch:

Here are some more shots of the layout.

This is the first layout I've ever done that I've matted the papers. I think it looks kinda cool. 

I used a mask and misted in some clocks in the background. The rest of the papers are Everyday Eclectic from Echo Park. I love them. Jewell loves pinks and girly tones too so I am trying to do a bunch of layouts in colors she will like. I've also left empty journaling spots in all of the layouts in the scrapbook so Lorna can go back and add whatever she wants to say about each picture. The title is actually the words to a song that is played during Mardi Gras.
So There ya have it!

The Cutest Assistant EVER!

Sup!
This Layout is all me. No challenge, no sketch. LOL, this is how I used to scrapbook exclusively, nowadays I kinda prefer the challenges. Gives me more of an objective. Anywho, I am rambling. Here is The Cutest Assistant EVER!

The EVER in the title shows up very lightly in the pictures but looks better, you know, in real life. I did use some molding paste and a mask in the upper left hand side. I love the way it came out. I sprayed it with a little shimmerz mist in teal once done but I mostly left it as is. I am LOVING molding paste. LOVE!

99% of the materials used in this layout came from Scraptastic Kit Club and the September kit, Noted. The only items that didn't come from them are the ric rac in the lower right corner and the bag, tag, and ribbon in the lower left. More about them in a bit.

The journaling talks about how Elwood has become used to being by my side every minute of the day so when I am working at the desk in the office he lays down underneath the desk at my feet. That pooch has completely stolen my heart. Keith's too. LOL, Elwood can make a grown man talk baby talk to him.

Back to Scraptastic. I had wanted to join a kit club for a while and had researched a bunch of them. Each one, while cool, just weren't quite it. There was always a few things that I knew I wouldn't use or they were too flower intensive or something. I came across Scraptastic and when I looked through their past kits every single one not only was filled with things I would use but had things I had purchased. Found it! I have been with them for 3 months now and I have no regrets. Each month they offer two different kits you can choose from. They also offer an add on for each kit and a stamp add on and different extras. Occasionally they will offer discounts on other items as well. For example, next month I will be receiving a bunch of Lawn Fawn washi tape they were selling at 3.50 a roll.

If you are thinking of joining a kit club then do it. I have no regrets. Look around, there are tons. Pick a club that fits your style of scrapbooking so you are happy with your kits each month. Hey, it might even be Scraptastic!

Well, there ya have it.

Two, Two, Two Challenges In One!

Sup!
Okay, normally I do not combine challenges. I did, however, make an exception with this particular layout. Firstly, the layout itself is from a sketch challenge at Sketch ~ N ~ Scrap. It is their sketch challenge for September and it looks like this:

Cool. Here is my take on said sketch:

Additionally this layout fits all the criteria for the  September Rach Recipe over at Colorful Creations. More on Colorful Creations in a moment.
The September Rach Recipe requires the following "ingredients" be found in your layout:
Ric Rac (that zig zag sewing stuff)
Stitching
2 photos
Metal (can be in the form of a brad)
1 fussy cut element.
Checking.....checking.....YUP! I have all of em! The fussy cut, oddly, took me the longest. It ended up being up at the upper right, I cut out the ticket and washi tape looking thing from a simple stories summer paper. The rest of the papers are Crate Paper and the letters are thickers.
The stitching is the red border you see in the upper two thirds of the layout and the metal is in the form of the brads and the ladybug paperclip.

Okay, back to Colorful Creations. What a great site! If you are into challenges then this is the site for you! They have tons of them every month. You could spend your whole month doing nothing but challenges and never leave this site. Everyone is very supportive and encouraging and nice too. So yeah, pop on over.
There ya have it.

Where The "MAGIC?" Happens.

Sup. This LO was done using my September Scraptastic Kit Noted and add on. More about Scraptastic in a bit. I also used a sketch from Studio Calico. Here is the sketch.

Here is my take on it.

A few shots of my little cubby where I put together my scrapbooking stuffs. My scrap area started out as a little box. Now I have two sets of dressers and a bunch of shelves.

I joined Scraptastic a couple of months ago. I was wanting to join a kit club but every one I came across wasn't quite it. As soon as I came across Scraptastic I knew they were it. Looking through all their previous kits, every single one had papers and embellishments I had purchased. Yay! We have the same taste! I do also like that they offer two different choices for the main kit each month.
So there ya have it!