Scrapping Our Stash Blog Hop - August!

Welcome to the Practical Scrappers Blog Hop 

where we are Scrapping our Stash.  

You should have arrived from the Practical Scrappers Blog - if you didn't you may want to go back and check out everyone's blogs for lots of inspirations and giveaways!  I know you'll enjoy the inspiration that they are providing!

This month (and from here on out) we are inviting anyone who's interested in joining the stash busting hop to join us.  If you want to join us next month email me at practicalscrappers@gmail.com.

Here's the entire Hop List in case you get lost along the way!

Practical Scrappers http://practicalscrappers.blogspot.com

Christine ***You ARE Here***

Wendy C www.stampingrules.com   ***Go HERE next***

Bobbi http://vintagemusedesigns.blogspot.com/

Wendi R http://scrappydayinparadise.blogspot.com/

Suzanna  http://lifestrivialities.typepad.com/

Kerri http://kerrikr8tions.blogspot.com

Lee-Anne http://lee-annelovethejourney.blogspot.com

Marcia http://www.onescrapatatime-bymumsie.blogspot.com/

Cheryl http://patchesandscraps.blogspot.com

Cathy http://alteredplayground.blogspot.com

One of my dear friends oldest son started high school the other day.  She captured this photo of him and her youngest and I just loved it.  She doesn't scrap but she does keep a baby book that is 8 1/2 X 11 so I created this for her to stick in his baby book. 

I went for fall colors and colors that I knew she would love also!  Everything is from Doodlebug Design.  If you follow this hop each month you will notice I use their goodies a lot!  I love their stuff and their colors all match up from line to line so it makes it really to mix and match with what I have left over.  This layout for example has pieces from I think 6 different lines!  

As a Thank You for stopping by today I am going to do a Stash Busting Giveaway of the following  Goodies 

You can do any or all of the following to enter:

1) Become a follower here

2) Like my Scrapping with Christine facebook page

3) Pin any of these projects onto Pinterest

And lastly leave me a comment to let me know which you have done!

This giveaway will remain open until 11:59 pm on September 8th!  I will announce a winner within a couple days!  And if you are interested in checking out one more blog hop I am in that also has a giveaway, click here!

Now Hop on Over to the talented Wendy's Blog

She makes me Happy - Imaginisce

As you can tell from this post, I've been playing with my Imaginisce a lot this week.  I decided to grab a couple of happy pictures of Lucy and just let them lead me in colors and inspiration!

I wanted to use the bold castle paper for a background but knew I needed to find a way to settle the rest of the layout to bring the eye in.  I decided to create a square with a bolder color and contain the focus of the layout to that.  I added some triangles to the two corners to bring in an extra color and help ground the whole thing more.  I added lots of words - both the main title and then big and little words that describe her.  stickers, buttons, and gems are the embellishing touches.  By keeping everything to the center I was able to complete the whole layout in about 45 minutes!

Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: Imaginisce

Stickers: American Crafts, Simple Stories

Gems: Imaginisce

Buttons: Imaginisce

So Big, So Little - Little Boy Layout

Today is my little guy Cooper's first day of preschool.  As I was sorting pictures last week, I realized that I had not scrapped these cute ones of him yet from back when he was one.  I pulled out my stash of Imaginisce patterned papers and die cuts and went to town! 

I built the whole thing around the shirt that he is wearing - pulling in those shades of blue.  After layering several papers to create my base, I matted and added my pictures where I wanted them.  I then used embellishments and stickers to create some little clusters to frame the pictures.  The funniest thing about these pictures is that I have some similar ones to do of my next son - at least I got these done before I forgot which was which :)  

Supplies Used:

Patterned Papers: Imaginisce

Die Cuts: Imaginisce

Stickers: Pink Paislee, Simple Stories, American Crafts

Cork: Studio Calico

Do Something Awesome!

Today I have a card to share that I made a long time ago, like 9 months ago, for a magazine submission.  I stumbled onto it in a file and realized I had never shared it.  I think it's perfect for back to school time!  I also spent at least an hour today singing and dancing to "Everything is Awesome" with two cute little boys, so this card just fits my day :)

I used a combination of hot balloon stickers and fussy cutting to create my balloons.  They are popped up with foam dots and the binder clips are slid underneath to look like the baskets of the balloons.  I hand cut some clouds and then dry embossed them to add some texture.  Doing some outlining helped make things pop.  I love outlining :).  Now which of my kiddos do I give this card to???

Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: Imaginisce, American Crafts

Stickers: Cosmo Cricket, Echo Park, Studio Calico

Back to School Layout - Paper House Productions

Paper House Productions is featuring their chalkboard sticker line this week and I shared this layout on their blog!  They have a wide variety of topics for their chalkboard stickers - but I opted for Back to School ones.

I know I had done a layout about Lucy's first day of preschool (in 2010) but I still had these cute pictures waiting on me and frankly they were too cute to pass over!  So on the eve of her first day of second grade, I thought I'd share :)  I combined the chalkboard stickers with several of their patterned papers and then 3D Owl Stickers and Puffy Owl Stickers.  Owls and school are always such a cute combination!  I also went a little different route on the picture placement and did a long skinny vertical set up.  If you want to check out full directions for the layout or pick up any of cute stickers on this layout, hop on over to Paper House Productions!

Supplies Used:

Stickers: Paper House Productions

Patterned Paper: Paper House Productions

Wood: studio Calico

Cardstock: American Crafts

Metallic Gold & SRM Stickers - a Fabulous Combination!

A few years ago I would never have used metallic gold on a paper crafting project!  Now it is everywhere and I am loving it!  Today I sharing two cards over on the SRM Stickers Blog that play off of this fabulous trend!  Here's the big shots and if you'd like to check out closeups head on over to SRM.

I recently picked up the Market Street collection by My Mind's Eye from The Scrapbooking Studio.  It's a really neat line with a whimsical but classy feel to it.  I decided to play off of the classy part for my projects today and really zone in on the metallics! For this card I just added circular Fancy Sticker Sentiments down the center.  Sequins were a quick added touch that packed some punch!

 

This card is a little more complicated but I love it!  I added the sticker sentiment to some of the patterned paper hoping for the gold dots to show through.  I then mounted it onto a silver metallic doily.  Layers of patterned paper make up the base accented with a gold bow.  Playing off of the polka dots I added some silver sequins and gold chipboard dots. 

Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye

Stickers: SRM Stickers

Doily: SRM Stickers

Ribbon: Ribbons Unlimited

Chipboard: My Mind's Eye

Core'dinations Design Team Call

Core'dinations is having a design team call and I decided to thrown my hat in the ring with a few projects that I have created.  I'm a technique junkie and love to come up with clever ways to use product so I have always been a fan of Core'dinations!  You can do so much more with their cardstock and a few simple tools than you can with any other cardstock on the market!  I enjoy doing all types of projects from layouts to cards to altered projects, so I thought I would share one of each! 

 First up I have a wall canvas that I created:

Directions:

1) Use an 11 X 13 canvas for your base.

2) Cut 2 inch squares in a variety of rainbow colors using the Kraft in Core

3) Using your paper trimmer cut the squares in half on the diagonal creating 2 triangles from each square

4) Use a die cut machine with an embossing folder and emboss each triangle.  I went with a scattered dots folder.

5) Sand each piece with your handy Sand it gadget to bring out the Kraft color core and then dust it off with your Dust Buddy to leave a clean working surface.

6) Assemble your heart - gluing each piece down when you are happy with the pattern.

7) Go over the entire heart with a modge podge style glue to secure it down.

8) Add a quote.

Core'dinations Products Used:

Tim Holtz Kraft Core Nostalgic Collection 6 X 6 Pad

Sand It Set

 My second project is a layout that makes use of both their cardstock and one of their new patterned papers!

I employed a variety of techniques with their cardstock on this layout!  

Directions:

1) Cut 1 inch off the patterned paper and add that to a white cardstock base.

2) Tear yellow cardstock to create a 6 inch strip to go across the center of the layout.

3) Cut out a 9 1/2 inch black circle using black cardstock.  

4) Distress the circle with the Sand It Gadget and attach it to the layout

5) Add a 4 inch square picture and two 3 inch square pictures.

6) Die cut stars in Green, Blue, Pink, Yellow, and Orange using different sizes.

7) Emboss some stars and sand them, add faux stitching to others, and leave others just plain.  

8) Add those and a die cut title above and below the photographs.

9) Journal around the perimeter of the circle.

Core'dinations Products Used:

Abracadabra from the Black Magic Collection

Love Potion

Blue Lightening

Orange

Dandelion

Amazon

Sand It Set

For my last project I created a card.  Because both of my first two projects are bold and vibrant, I decided to show a softer side. 

Once again I used a several different techniques with their cardstock!

Directions:

1) Using the whitewash collection cut out a 4 1/4" X 5 1/2" piece and run it thru the embossing machine with a doily embossing folder.  

2) Sand the embossing to bring out the kraft color, then marvel at how gorgeous (and trendy) it is :)

3) Tear a small piece of red cardstock and attach that to the bottom of the doily piece.

4) Add a burlap heart to connect the two pieces.

5) Punch a heart out in the same red and emboss it.  

6) Sand it and add it to the center of the burlap heart.

7) Die cut a butterfly using the reverse side of the Whitewash Cardstock and add that atop the heart.

8) Add a sentiment and matt your pieces with kraft cardstock and white cardstock.  Then add them to a red card base.

Core'dinations Products Used:

Tim Holtz Kraft Core Nostalgic Collection 6 X 6 Pad

Grandpa's Trunk from the Whitewash Collection

Kraft Cardstock

110 lb White Cardstock

Sand It Set

Creative Blog Hop

**If you are looking for the Samantha Walker Creative Team Blog Hop you can find it by clicking here**

Today I am joining some friends in a blog hop tour! My awesome friend Suzanna asked me to join in! If you haven't already had a chance to check out her amazing work - you should definitely head to her blog! We are each sharing a little about ourselves and our creative process! I can't wait to hop around and see what others have to share!

1. What am I working on right now?

I am working on a new home decor piece that incorporates lots of Core'dinations Cardstock and a pretty awesome quote. I am hoping to have it up on my blog on Sunday!

2. How long does it take to create a project?

Well....it depends on when I am working. Occasionally I start things during the day which means I could have 1-4 kids "helping." If that is the case it is a lot of starting and stopping. If I am working in the evening after they have gone to bed it tends to be a much quicker process. Cards usually take 30-45 minutes and Layouts usually are 60-90 minutes.

3. What are my fave things I love to create with at the moment?

My silhouette cameo, patterned paper with bright colors, and my white signo pen. If we're talking brands...I always create things that I love with Paper House Productions, SRM Stickers, Doodlebug Design, and Simple Stories. I adore Core'dinations for my cardstock needs!

4. How does my creating process work?

I usually set out with either the pictures I want to scrap or a specific collection I want to use. I rarely plan anything out and just kind of let my brain take the piece where it goes.

For example on this card I knew which line I was wanting to use (Good Day Sunshine from Simple Stories). I knew that I wanted to use a 4 X 6 pocket card for my background and the "hello" sticker.  So I had my base and sentiment - from there I just built up the layers with embellishments of stickers, fussy cutting, enamel dots, and stickles.

5. How do I become inspired and stay inspired?

Looking at patterns, blogs, magazines...I'm very visual so studying other projects inspires me. Keeping fresh supplies on hand keeps me inspired - I try to at least replenish some patterned papers each month.

6. What is my signature style?

This has always been a tough question for me! I have a clean and whimsical style that incorporates bold color choices and dabbles in product and design trends. Here's a few projects that I think showcase my style well!

I am tagging two of my talented friends to share their blog with you too! I thought long and hard about who to ask and decided on these two because they regularly bring me inspiration but in very different ways!

Here's the paper craft artist I think you should check out!

Linda Auclair rocks the clean style of scrapbooking and uses multiple pictures a lot! Both of those qualities have made me a long time fan of hers. We both do design work for Paper House Productions and I am always amazed at what she comes up with!

Fright This Way - an exciting find in Joann's!

*If you are looking for the Samantha Walker blog hop, it is directly below this post*

Yesterday while I was up in Chicagoland I needed to stop and get some cardstock at Joann's.  While we were there my kids stumbled onto this:

Not just one, but two of my layouts that I created for Paper House Productions made it onto project sheets for Joann's.  I really love both layouts so I was thrilled to see them!  My oldest son was thrilled and it was pretty cute to watch his excitement!  Here he is copying his face from the layout:

I shared the monster layout with you last week - you can check it out here if you missed it.  Here's the second layout!

I used my cameo a lot to create this one - going for a spookier look!  Although let's be honest, the picture isn't really too scary :) It is always fun to see your work in a public setting - thanks for letting me share a little of my excitement with you today!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock: American Crafts

Patterned Paper: Paper House Productions

Stickers: Paper House Productions

Enamel Dots: Studio Calico

Samantha Walker Creative Team Blog Hop - Back to School

Welcome to the 

Samantha Walker Creative Crafters Team Blog Hop!

You should have arrived here from Nicole Stark's Blog!

We have a fabulous giveaway this month of a Pixscan Mat from Silhouette

All you need to do is enter below. You can earn multiple entries by following us on Facebook, commenting below, tweeting about the giveaway, and signing up for the email updates. This giveaway is open to US customers only and closes on this Sunday at 11:59 PM MDT.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For my project today I created a Back to School card in the shape of a bus!

Did you know that it is really simple to make almost any Silhouette shape into a card?  Here's how you can do it!

1)  Start off by clicking on the shape

2) Choose the Replicate button  

3) Click the Mirror Above choice so you get an image directly above your original

4)Move the shape close enough to the original that the part that you want to become the card fold is touching the same part on the original.

5) Click the Modify Button

6) Highlight the whole shape

7) Click Weld

This will produce something that looks like the above screen and will work perfectly for a foldable card! This is one of my favorite quick tricks to make one of a kind cards to share with those I love!  

After adding your yellow overlay to the bus decorate it with a white pen, a back to school banner, and some stickers to make it personal!

Don't forget to sign up for Samantha's Newsletter 

through the Rafflecopter widget to receive your

FREE SVG and Silhouette Studio file! 

Thanks so much for stopping in today! Next up is Jamie!  You can get to her blog by clicking on the picture below!

Sketchy Saturday Week 19 - An 11 picture layout!

Today's sketch has a lot of pictures on it - making it perfect for scrapping some of those summer memories! I used mine with lots of instagram pictures - nice and small but still memorable!  Here's the sketch!

There is one focal point picture and then lots of little squares to add pictures to and decorate. Here's my interpretation:

I went with 5 pictures down each side instead o f 6.  I used a patterned paper for the base that had the color stripes - so that determined 5 squares for me instead of 6!  I had tons of pictures from last summer that I still needed to document of this little guy - this ended up being great because it got them committed to paper!  All these are cute, special moments but not necessarily ones that needed a whole layout to themselves.  I created this as a sample for The Scrapbooking Studio using Good Day Sunshine from Simple Stories. Simple Stories makes the process of creating so easy - I just love their stuff and am so glad that I can get the latest from The Scrapbooking Studio!

If you create something with this sketch please share it with me either in the comments here or on my facebook page!

Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: Simple Stories

Chipboard: Simple Stories

Stickers: Simple Stories

Enamel Dots: Simple Stories

Wood: Studio Calico

Sneak Peek

I had way too much fun with this project for SRM Stickers!  It involves a countdown, a chalkboard, and vinyl....can you guess what it is?  C'mon by the SRM blog to see!

Blog Hop Winner

Stacy Tilton you are the winner from the Scrapping our Stash blog hop last week!  Please shoot me an email at practicalscrappers@gmail.com and I can send your package to you!

Little Monster Layout - Paper House Productions

It's the time of year where new releases and holiday releases are coming out!  Today I have a layout to share that uses some of the new 3D Halloween stickers from Paper House Productions!

When I saw these I knew right away that they would be perfect for the pictures of Bo from last Halloween!  I was focused on the stickers and not paper so I used primarily cardstock in solid colors and created a background using those.  I added just a couple touches of purple patterned paper from the Little Girl Paper Pad.  I went with circles because the sticker pack had several small accent stickers that were circles and I thought I would build around that!  I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the letters to make "Roar, Grr, and Boo." 

Supplies Used: 

Cardstock: American Crafts

Patterned Paper: Paper House Productions

Stickers: Paper House Productions

Enamel Dots: My Mind's Eye

2 Page Travel Layout

One of my favorite places to visit and favorite location of childhood memories is just outside the Sequoia National Park in California.  Growing up we went there nearly every summer and camped - skiing on the lake, playing in the local rivers and having a great time.  Three years ago we got to visit there with my family too.  I have documented portions of it - but today I have a two page layout that documents a lot more of it!  My parents were along with us - although my mom took most of these pictures so she's hiding :)

I created this layout based on a sketch in Create Magazine put out by Scrapbook Generation.  I enjoy playing with their sketches and try to whenever I have the free time (LOL free time) each month! Using a combination of camping themed lines from Paper House Productions and Pebbles Inc made it come together with some coherence.  The framed pictures were cut out from some awesome Paper House Productions paper! I can't believe how many pictures I managed to squeeze on here!  Hop on over to Scrapbook Generation and check out the whole July issue - it is full of awesome inspiration!

Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: Paper House Productions & Pebbles Inc

Stickers: Paper House Productions, Pebbles Inc, Little Yellow Bicycle

Chipboard: Bella Blvd

Wood: Studio Calico

Happy Summer Layout

I'm working on a new round of projects for The Scrapbooking Studio and this time I am playing Simple Stories "Good Day Sunshine" line.  It is such a fun line with lots of vibrant colors!

I started by cutting out the circle frame on my Silhouette Cameo and then built from there.  I added a few pictures and then lots of embellishments from stickers to chipboard to enamel dots.  I love Simple Stories collections and how they have sooooo many great embellishments!  It makes it easy to work with but still add your own personal touches!  I went real bold in my paper choice and left most of the page bare outside of working in that top third!  Very different for me to but I enjoyed the process!

Supplies Used:

Patterne Paper: Simple Stories

Stickers: Simple Stories

Enamel Dots: Simple Stories

Chipboard: Simple Stories

Sympathy Card

I do not enjoy making sympathy cards.  I rarely have them even on hand because it just makes me sad!  But a friend has recently suffered a loss and I felt compelled to send a personal note.  I pulled out some Imaginisce goodies, dies from Poppy Stamps, and my go to for sentiments SRM Stickers.

I cut out the striped paper first - planning to fit my sentiment onto the lighter blue lines.  I then backed that with some light blue floral paper and added those to the card base.  Both of those papers come from the Welcome Spring line from Imaginisce!  I then die cut the butterfly and leaves and added them.  I surrounded those with blue gems and some white I Rock gems. Simple but pretty with lots of dimension and texture to it!  

Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: Imaginisce

Gems: Imaginisce

Sticker: SRM Stickers

Disney Princess Pocket Page

I am up over at Leaky Shed Studio today and I decided to create a pocket page about Lucy's princess time at Disneyland.  I take sooooo many pictures when I go to Disney with my kids - pocket pages are the way to get them documented without spending a year doing layouts!  I had so much fun putting this together and building a big scene throughout the layout!

 I had a plan laid out in mind with the castle and title but I knew I needed something to add as a focal point for a picture of her!  I ended up cutting out a picture of her and adding the Circle Arch Doily Frame around her picture.

  After painting it white, I cut it so that it would fit in two pockets.  I love how it adds some different texture and dimension to the whole thing and really brings the eye to her picture first!

Do you have Disney Pocket Pages to share?  I would love to see it!  Link me up here or share with me on my facebook wall!

Supplies Used:
Patterned Paper: Dooodlebug Designs, We R Memory Keepers
Stickers: Simple Stories, Doodlebug Designs, SRM Stickers
Chipboard: Leaky Shed Studio

The Twinery & Serendipity Stamps Blog Hop

It has been a busy blog hop week for me!  I'm back today with another hop joining The Twinery and Serendipity Stamps.  You probably arrived here from Marybeth's Blog but if you didn't you'll want to head back to The Twinery and do the whole hop and get in on the prize!

Here's the whole hop list for you!

The Twinery - http://thetwinery.com/blog

Serendipity Stamps - http://serendipitystamps.com/blog

Julie Ranae - http://juliesopenwindow.blogspot.com/

Monika Wright - http://www.iloveitallwithmonikawright.com/

Jenny Gropp - http://onekraftykat.blogspot.com/search/label/Serendipity%20Stamps   

Marybeth Lopez - http://marybethstimeforpaper.blogspot.com/search/label/Serendipity%20Stamps

Christine Meyer - http://scrappingwithchristine.blogspot.com/

Miriam Napier - http://miriamsdelirium.blogspot.com/search/label/Serendipity%20Stamps      

Katarina Damm-Blomberg - http://krumeluran.wordpress.com/

Pauline Pollington - http://pauline-littlemrsp.blogspot.fr/search/label/Serendipity%20stamps   

Anita Mulcahey - http://happypapercrafthappenings.blogspot.com/

Rebecca Greco - http://hugsarefun.com/

The Twinery is giving away the following prize:

Who wouldn't love to get their hands on that?  And it would give you the right twine to make my card below!

To create my card I started with using the Circle Nesting Stitching Dies to create a really unique background.  It required several runs thru the machine adding more circles and overlapping and such but it turned out really cool!  Since I was off to a graphic start I decided to continue down that road!  I used my solid twines (honeydew, bubblegum, and midnight blue) to create triangles that have vertices at parts of the circle stitches.  My final step was to add some gems, wood arrows, and sticker sentiments.  

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Next up is Miriam - have fun hopping!

Sketchy Saturday Week 18

**If you are looking for The Twinery Blog Hop or the Scrapping our Stash Blog Hop they are below this post!**

I'm back with another week of Sketchy Saturday!  

This week's sketch is a pretty simple one which leaves lots of room for you to add your own personal touches to it!  Here's my take on it:

I created this as a sample for The Scrapbooking Studio using the Herbs & Honey line from Basic Grey.  Instead of keeping all the straight lines I did some paper tearing for my base.  Because there are lots of patterns already in my base I tried to keep the rest a little more simple.  I have held off on scrapping these pictures for a long time because they show the special side of my daughter that just loves to be outside.  I knew this paper line would be just perfect for them!

Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey

Stickers:Basic Grey

Letters: Basic Grey

Wood: Studio Calico