Why Blend In When You Can Stand Out

This phrase has been used a lot in conjunction with spreading Autism Awareness. It came to mind after taking pictures at the Bellagio Gardens. In a field of purple tulips, there was one little section of yellow tulips. It was so striking. In a challenge at Color Me Scrappy, it said to use two of the same picture and put butterflies on the layout. I printed the photo twice, and cropped one of them to the central section and adhered it with pop-up dots. Here's the resulting layout:

A close up of the double photo:

The color combo used:

Be inspired, and use those spring photos with this color combo!

Breathtaking ...Vacation Layout

This is my first challenge entry for Paper Issues, Frosted Designs, and Paper Bakery blogs. This layout uses Instagram photos, a sketch, and has a travel theme.

I had a lot of fun putting this together...on a Wednesday night! This is very  unusual for me! I am 99.5% a weekend scrapper due to working full time. I was just too inspired from my blog searching over the weekend to leave challenges on the table. Loving it!

The sketch used from Paper Bakery:

I hope you have a wonderful week! Scrap whenever you can and inspiration hits!

Circles, Stars and Stripes

Dots and stripes are common patterns in our papers, but they are often the ones left in our stash because they aren't as fancy or "hot" as the new stuff. At least it's that way in my stash! They liven up when they are paired together, and I need to remember that. I recently followed a scrapper's link to a blog Scrap Our Stash that has a challenge to use stripes and dots together on a layout with a bird, butterfly or bee accent. I think I'll be coming back to this site to find ways to use my extensive stash!

I applied the use of stripes, dots, and butterflies to a sketch and color scheme on Color Me Scrappy! In my stash, I had the Dots and Stripes book of patterned paper by Hot Off the Press, so I had coordinated papers handy. The sketch was a window pane of 4 small pics. I just got 4 wallet sized photos of my niece from my sister. Instead of putting them in our wallets, I decided to use them for a layout.

I couldn't help but think about how much she's grown! I had a toddler picture of her in my wallet, so I decided to make this a then/now layout, too! There just happened to be a Issue challenge on Club CK for this! To add the journaling, I used a journaling spot, but I cut out the inside of it. I let my striped paper provide the lines to write on.

Sometimes I'm surprised where inspiration can come from so many things at one time!

Circles and Stars

Another staple in my stash is stars. I've had some Heidi Swapp credit card stars for a while, but I just didn't have a layout call for them. While blog surfing, I found a sketch on Creative Scrappers that highlights circles and stars. Thinking of using older stash items, I brought out some circle stickers my memories complete, my chipboard stars, and some star brads.

Here's the sketch:

Thanks for looking, and I hope these challenges inspire you to use your stash, too!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Or I should say February for March, here in Las Vegas, it seems we get the rain in February and my trees bloom in March! In any case, the pattern paper by DCWV Spring Stack had a sheet of rain season 'die cuts' that reminded me of these pictures. I also found a page of glittered clouds and another page had butterflies on a border. I cut all of them out to put together this scene. I really felt creative completing this one!

Happy Spring and Easter everyone!

Party Time!

This weekend I decided to scrap some of my time spent with friends. One layout was a girls night out and the other is from New Year's Eve. Both layouts called out for glitz and shine of some kind. I used spray ink and metallic inspired stickers. I owe my inspiration to a weekly Issue Challenge at Club CK to use paint and a sketch off of Studio Calico. Let's take a look at the results:

 Here you can see the way the ink is placed on the resist paper to develop the pattern. I punched the edge to give it some more umph!

Here's my other paint layout. I used silver ink with the negatives of a die cut to spell out the title and then outlined the letters. I love this technique!

You-nique

I love it when I can complete multiple challenges in one page! This layout incorporates a sketch, colors, and a CK Issue challenge to use a Dr Seuss quote. This is one of my favorite pictures from last year of JJ. He's looking straight at me and at least has a partial smile! He has a great time wearing all sorts of hats, especially his crafted ones!

 

The Color Me Scrappy challenge used pinks and greens, and Creating Keepsakes provided the Dr. Seuss quote:

 

Putting on the Glitz

Hi everyone! It seems like I've been drawing my inspiration from color combos and sketches lately! It seems to channel my creativity.

I completed this layout for a sketch and color challenge at Color Me Scrappy. The sketch included a 6x6 sunburst and a grid format. I turned it a little to fit the format of my pictures. I always take pictures of where we stay on vacation, but I hardly ever use them on layouts since they can tend to be boring---living room, bedroom, kitchen, etc. This time I was sure to include us in the pictures so I could use them!

For the sunburst, I used Heidi Swapp gold Color Shine with a Studio Calico mask, which comes in a 12x12 format, but I only used a corner of it. I embellished the burst with American Crafts Thickers gold stars that came with the gold letters and an Amy Tan rub-on. I also was able to keep some memorabilia on the page with a glasine envelope that I cut open and border punched the top edges.