A Good Man Is Hard To Find And Sew Is A Sewing Machine

Sup!
Okay, so I decided to buy a sewing machine cause I "wanted to do a little light sewing" on my layouts. I spent the first night learning everything there was to know about the piece o crap first machine I bought, only to return it, bleary eyed, to the store the next day. My second attempt, with a Singer, was MUCH better. I now, can not only get the stupid bobbin mechanism to work, but actually apply thread to my layouts in a sewing type fashion.
Okay for this layout, I pulled out all the stops. Titled, A Good Man Is Hard To Find, an homage to Lorna's husband, I am also submitting to Colorful Creations Scraplifters Retreat Challenge. This month the challenge is to lift a die cut concept from someone. I chose to scraplift, of course, Lilith Eeckels, and her fondness for die cutting titles like she did in this layout. Here is mine:

In addition to using the die cut I SEWED THE CRAP OUT OF SOME STUFF!!!! I also misted, used some gesso, masked and in general became a mixed media bad ass on this layout.

Okay so there it is. I am looking forward to getting better and better at sewing on my layouts and I plan to use that technique on pretty much every layout going forward.

MATERIALS USED:
Papers - I Lowe (not a type o they are polish papers) Scrap, Echo Park and Bazzill.
Embellies - Brads and decorative paper clip MME, stick pins - Maya Road & Little Yellow Bicycle. Tiny tags - Basic Grey. Circle Transparency Die Cut - Imaginations. Wood veneer frame - Studio Calico. Bag - I dunno. Mist - Mr. Hueys in Taxi. Ink Distress - Black Soot. Stamp - Studio Calico. Mistable stars - Studio Calico.

Well, there ya have it.

Celebrate Your Inner Silliness & A For Girls Only Challenge

Sup!
My latest addition to Lorna's album is a layout of Jewell being her very silliest! Additionally, Colorful Creations monthly challenge For Girls Only, is to use chipboard this month. The Celebrate in the title is chipboard from October Afternoon.

I wanted the page to look like maybe the top papers were wrapped around the back and end on the front there. A cool effect except from that point on I was completely thrown off by angles. If I placed things at the same angle as the base papers it looked off, if I placed things at a 90 degree angle, it looked off.......
Finally I used both and just plowed forward.
Also, the silliness in the title was cut from my new Ecraft which I LOVE!!!! I LOVE HAVING AN ELECTRONIC DIE CUTTING MACHINE!!!!!!!!! I will post on that specifically later.

Materials Used:
Papers: Crate Paper, Pretty Party Collection. Basic Grey, Paper Cottage Collection.
Embellies - Chipboard - Cakewalk, October Afternoon. Letters - Basic Grey & Tim Holtz. Brads - My Minds Eye, Nostalgia. Metal pins - Basic Grey. Button - October Afternoon. Flag - Basic Grey. Tab - Smash. Envelope - Simple Stories. Paper Die cut - Crate Paper. Bakers Twine - Maya Road

Well, there ya have it!

A Technique Review Via A Whodat From Way Back

Sup!
So you absolutely cannot discuss Lorna even briefly without touching upon the fact that she loves, LOVES the New Orleans Saints. Now, I consider myself a fan, I keep up with games and players. I sport many a Saints apparel, if they play here in AZ I will spend 300.00 on tickets. Lorna blows me out of the water. That girl truly does bleed black and gold. That being said it is only fitting that I do a layout paying homage to her love of the Saints.
Now, this is my first real "themed" layout. I normally just find things that I think are cool and slap them on the paper. With this one, I really did not want it to look like a sixth graders art project on their favorite team. Okay here goes:

I have not participated in many challenges this month, heck, I think only one so far, so this one will get submitted into Colorful Creations Technique Review challenge. The crux of the challenge is you must have at least 2 of the following techniques on your layout:
stitching
distressing
layering
wet embossing
dry embossing
I have everything but the stitching. The black fleur de lis and the Chipboard Saints in the lower right corner are both wet embossed. The tag to the right of the pic is dry embossed, there is a bit of distressing in there and there is layering all over the place. Shoot, now I want to go back and stitch something too.
Since the Saints colors are black and gold I stuck with the black and white and used the gold just on the emblem. I did not want to use yellow in place of the gold because it would have begun to look cheesy I think.

 I am not going to list all the manufacturers this time because, seriously, I think every single thing I used was from a different company and there is a ton of stuff on that layout.
Well, there ya have it!

Easter Day Down South Louisiana Way

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Next up on my layouts for Lorna agenda is Easter Day Down South Louisiana Way.

Most everything on this layout (the pins, tag, & bling are not) is from my November kit and add on from Scraptastic Kit Club. Great kits BTW, check 'em out.

For the photo I printed out two copies, cut the portion showing the crawfish off and matted it, then lined it back up to the original. I kinda like it.
Again, I am focusing on layering, layering, layering. I still need some work but I am feeling a lot more comfortable with it now and am beginning to have fun with it.

In the upper right and lower left corners I added the chocolate cardstock. In the upper right I cut it with a deckle cut and put it on top. On the lower left I cut the base paper again with the deckle and put the cardstock in to replace the corner. In person it gives it a little extra texture.

For the title, I used all of my Sizzlits font sets which I am in love with. The top font is Cherish, the middle one is the letters from alpha bubbles and the bottom is Mac n Cheese. They are da bomb!
I am very close to being done with Lorna's album. Since it is so close to Christmas I am no longer scrapping anything but her stuff.
Well, there ya have it.

U R 1 Beautiful & Fabulous Girl!

Sup!
Okay, I gotta say, I am really proud of this layout. I have been trying to get myself to that next level in scrapbooking and this layout is proof that my efforts have not been for naught. I started with a sketch from Stuck! Sketches which looks like this:

Of course since the orientation of my photo was different I had to change that around a bit and I went way out on my background. Here is my version:

I just got my Studio Calico Starburst Mask and I wanted to use it. I misted the starbutst onto cardstock and then partially cut out the misted portion so I could lift them up. I then put the whole paper on identical colored cardstock and propped up the misted portions with pop dots. The colored doilies you see tucked into the misted portions I fussy cut out of Simple Stories papers and tucked in. The title I pulled from different sticker sheets from Simple Stories and Crate Paper as well as chipboard letters I had.

For the journaling I misted a tag and mixed in handwritten journaling with some Cosmo Cricket Tiny Text stickers for individual words.
Overall, I am super happy with how it came out. This, of course, is another page for Lorna's scrapbook which I am 3/4 done with now. Hooray, it will be done for Christmas.
Well, there ya have it!

Love Is Nailin That Layered Look.....Two Independent Thoughts....

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Okay, so I have been doing a few direct lifts in order to understand the layering process a little better. With this layout I did no scraplift at all. I drew and planned it out. Heck, I didn't even use a sketch for this one. Overall, I am very happy with it. I still have some studying to do in the layering department but this  is a lot better than efforts past. Okay, let me just post it on up there.

I did a few new things on this LO too. I took some vellum and cut it into thirds then punched down both sides and laid it over the bottom paper then I treated it as a normal background except up at the top where I tore a piece of paper to cover where I attached the vellum. I then stitched across the length of the top of the page. I stamped the word love both on the vellum and underneath it on the bottom paper as well. I thought it came out groovy.

I also used two rub ons, I don't normally use them at all, on the lower right and up at the top in the middle.
Well, there ya have it.

SUPPLIES: Oh man, its so late and I do NOT feel like doing this. The papers are Heidi Swapp and Pink Paislee. Got some MME enamel dots and brads. My title is from my Sizzlits in alpha bubble font. A couple other random things and thats about it. Nighty night.

Another Lift From A Master

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So I am continuing with scraplifting the "masters" in an effort to improve my own style of scrapbooking. In art school students are encouraged to paint in the manner of Picasso or VanGogh, Monet, etc.. In so doing they gain a better perspective on painting as a whole and development of their own style. I am applying that to scrapbooking.
This Layout was a direct lift from my favorite scrapbooker. Lilith Eeckels. As far as I am concerned, she does no scrapbook wrong. Every single layout she produces I think, "Yup, now that's my favorite." She has a free and easy style and has elevated layering to a whole new level. Anyone who has an interest in scrapbooking should check out her blog, it is a fountain of inspiration.
Okay, so this is the layout she produced:

Is it not the coolest? That layering is the bomb! Okay, here is my almost direct lift:

Since we both subscribe to Scraptastic, where most of this came from, I had most of what she did. There were a few deviations but not many.

This truly was helpful to me. I adore the way Lilith can extend out the layering past the picture, making it another embellishment area in its own right. Putting this one together I gained a much better understanding of how she does it.
Since this is going into a friends scrapbook that I am giving her, I wanted to leave a place for her to put in some journaling so the tag you see on the right, is blank and ready for Lorna to fill in whatever she desires once she gets it.
So there ya have it. I think I am gonna "lift" at least one more before I go back to scrapping myself. I am really starting to miss submitting to challenges which is something you can't do when "lifting".