Made with Love Scrap Challenge Take

5 March 2012

Since I started scrapbooking, I’ve only done a handful of photoless layouts. So this scrap challenge at my local scrapbook store, Made with Love, was a lot of fun to do!

I made this layout about my favorite things right now (still technically twenty!). It’s going to be really neat to look back on this layout someday and see how much things have (or haven’t) changed since.

Project #14: Loving 20

Supplies: Bazzil Basics cardstock; American Crafts Dear Lizzy Neapolitan collection, large tags, thickers; We R Memory Keepers slate baker’s twine; Tattered Angels Mel’s Diner glimmer mist, Decadence chalk mist; washi tape; heart punch; badges.

Love the cute badges!

I kept the layout relatively simple so the pretty Dear Lizzy goodies could shine all by themselves (: I wish I had more them; can’t seem to get enough!

I hope your Monday has been fabbbb! (:

Sketch Wednesday / 22 Feb ’12

3 March 2012

I’ve been so busy this week that I just got done with last week’s Sketch Wednesday. Ugh, my bad. But better late than never, yes? (:

So on to the sketch!

Project #13: Love you girls

Supplies: Bazzill Basics Cardstock; Studio Calico State Fair, Autumn Press and Memorandum collections, Jillibean Soup; Maya Road sheers; Tattered Angels decadence chalk mist; Versamagic jumbo java; Kaisercraft bling; American Crafts premium ribbon

I like the big empty space in the sketch for the title.

I wrote the title in pencil, then handstitched the words. It’s far from perfect-looking, but I guess that’s part of the handmade touch (:

I added the bling for an extra girly touch.

I love that I got to use mostly Studio Calico papers in this layout. They were so much fun to use!

I’m headed out for the rest of today.
Have a smashing weekend! (:

Basic Scrapbook Sketch / 20 Feb ’12

25 February 2012

I’ve been thinking about doing a layout like this for awhile now but I just never got around to. So this sketch was the perfect excuse (or motivation) to do it (:

Project #12: Starbucks Lovin’

Supplies: Bazzill Basics cardstock; Amy Tangerine, Studio Calico, Echo Park patterned papers (I don’t know what brand the orangey-red paper under the ribbon is though!); American Craft ribbon, bones thickers; buttons; tag; Kaiser Craft journal clear stamp; Amy Tangerine lovestruck clear stamp; heart punch; buttons; white pen

Everyone who knows me well enough knows that I love Starbucks (: But for more than just the coffee, I love Starbucks for all the fun I’ve had, all the love and warmth I’ve felt, all the moments I’ve enjoyed, all the people I’ve connected with, all the memories I’ve made over a cup of coffee at this place. I had so much fun putting this layout together!

My layout has fewer details and layers than the original. And I moved the title below the photo and moved the photo to the middle of the page.

I used the leftover punch outs from the punched hearts at the bottom of the page.

I curled the edges of the banner and didn’t glue them down for added dimension.

Oh look, no pinwheels or baker’s twine this time!

Okay, no bragging, but I love e-ver-ythinggg about this layout: from the topic at hand, to the photo, journaling, patterned papers, and everything in between. This layout clicks and resounds with me.

This makes me happy (:

I enjoyed the first half of my weekend today: spending time with my brother, lunch and catching up with my good friend, going scrapbook shopping…

But I was really bummed because Made with Love (or any of the other scrapbook stores, for that matter) was completely sold out of the Dear Lizzy goodies I’d been hoping to get (especially that roller date stamp and the jar and camera clear stamps!)

So ahhh, I’ll just have to be patient and wait for the next shipment to come in in a couple of weeks.

Enjoy every single bit of your weekend (:

Happy mail + a card

23 February 2012

Most of the time, I like my happy mail in packages.

But this was almost just as good: I found this email sitting in my inbox last night.

I was so floored because it was such an unexpected, happy surprise. Sure, it was a random pick and might not be a big deal to some. But it was exciting enough for me to fall asleep with a smile on my face (:

Talk about extra motivation to keep doing what I love!
Now, just fingers crossed that they ship international!

And before I run off, I thought I’d share a card I made a few days ago – a simple birthday greeting with the pretty washi tape from my local scrapbook store, Made with Love.

When I’m this busy, simple is always good (:

I hope you’ve had something happy come your way today!

Sketch Wednesday / 15 Feb ’12

22 February 2012

I was slightly at a loss as to what to do for a moment when I saw this week’s sketch because it had more photos than I would normally include in a layout.

I guess my style has evolved since I first started scrapping because I used to do multi-photo layouts more often. Nowadays, I tend to just have a couple of photos (maybe 4 smaller ones at most) and tuck everything else in a pocket or mini-album.

So this week’s layout was slightly reminiscent of the multi-photo layouts I used to do “back in the day”when I first started scrapping.

But I liked the result and I hope you like it as much as I did (:

Project #11: Universal Studios (Singapore)

Supplies: Bazzill Basics cardstock; Amy Tangerine collection, Lily Bee Memorandum collection; American Crafts Bones thickers; We R Memory Keepers slate baker’s twine; Maya Road large kraft tickets; Made With Love washi tape; Tattered Angels mustard seed, mallard glimmer mist, decadence chalk mist; brad; white pen

I stretched the grid to fill the entire length of the page. And I cropped my photos into circles instead of keeping the lines.

My circle photo mats were hand drawn and were anything but perfect. I just went with it anyhow because scrapping’s good like that. Then I decided to crease the mats just to add a little more dimension.

Of course, we couldn’t forget the baker’s twine and pinwheels, could we? (:

I love how pretty the mist looks on the tag (: And I didn’t even plan on it, haha.

I’m really pleased with how these sketches have pushed me to create beyond my comfort zone so far.

I hope your week’s been smashing! (:

Basic Scrapbook Sketch / 13 Feb ’12

18 February 2012

Warning: Image-heavy post ahead! (:

I finally used up my Amy Tangerine stash, which I have been unbashedly hoarding. I created Project #10 for Basic Grey’s Scrapbook Sketch with photos from our family’s stay-cation a couple of years back. This layout came together pretty easily, which wasn’t hard with such fun, happy papers to work with (:

Project #10: Making Waves

Supplies: Bazzill Basics cardstock; American Crafts Amy Tangerine collection, thickers, foam dots; Amy Tangerine Lovestruck clear stamps, Maya Road large kraft tickets; StazOn Stone Grey; buttons; sewing thread; brads; transparency.

I replaced the two photos on the sketch with pinwheels instead. I actually made those pinwheels on a whim and LOVED it! Might be my new favorite thing after banners and butterflies (:

I stamped on a transparency with StazOn and stitched my title on.

I created a mini-album behind the main photo. I think I might be one step closer in conquering my mini album phobia.

Added dimension with lots of foam dots.

I honestly love this collection. I’m so glad I found the perfect photos for this great collection (: I can’t wait for when more of Amy Tan’s new collection hits the stores in March!

Hope your weekend has been fabulous (:

Mini album phobia

16 February 2012

This is my mini album basket. It houses the twenty or so mini-albums that I’ve made in the past couple of years. It sits in a convenient place in the living room and is constantly a source of amusement when guests come over.

So I was rather surprised when I recently discovered that I have a phobia of making mini albums.

I fear that the products won’t match. That they’ll take too long to get done. That they’ll be too stressful. That they’ll end up looking all the same and being too boring…

Don’t get me wrong. Mini albums are great for storing numerous, multiple photos of one event. And they’re great for carrying around and showing off when I actually get done with them. But it’s always the thought of starting that puts me off and terrifies me.

And it’s strange really, because I don’t think I’ve had this before with the mini albums I’ve made.

Ahh, I know all this sounds so silly now and I’ll just end up laughing at myself after I get started and finish putting my pictures into minis.

So for now, I’ll just look this lion squarely in the face and let this inspiration aplenty help me get started.

Source: studiocalico.com via Amelia on Pinterest

Source: crate.typepad.com via Amelia on Pinterest

Source: candimandi.typepad.com via Amelia on Pinterest

Someday, I will get over this.

Sketch Wednesday Take / 8 Feb ’12

14 February 2012

I don’t usually do much for Valentine’s Day.

Instead, I spent my day creating a layout for last week’s Sketch Wednesday at the Green Frog Studio (:

Project #9: 2010

Supplies: Lily Bee Memorandum collection, Love Elsie patterned paper; Tattered Angels Decadence chalkboard mist; Basic Grey dark chocolate chip alpha stickers; Maya Road black transparency, die cut kraft doilies; washi tape; date stamp

Because I didn’t have a sewing machine and wanted the look, I hand-stitched across the circle cut outs.

I hadn’t done it yet here, but I later added white glue over the Christmas tree and turned it into an epoxy-ish tree.

These photos from Christmas 2010 had been lying around and I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. And actually, this layout didn’t quite come together as easily as layouts usually do. But I was pretty inspired by what Melissa did here and I quite like the feel of how my layout turned out (:

Happy Valentine’s Day! <3

Sketch Wednesday Take / 1 Feb ’12

7 February 2012

It’s time for Sketch Wednesday again! (:

Circles usually stump me and this week’s sketch forced me to incorporate them into my layout, which was really great because I haven’t done that in awhile either. On a side note, I am seriously loving these sketches because they work superly with Project 52 for 2012. Plus, I accomplish my goal of doing more sketch challenges and stuff (:

So Project #8: ’09 Memory

Supplies: Bazzill Basics cardstock; SEI Dill Blossom paper stack; Maya Road chipboard shapes; We R Memory Keepers blue lagoon baker’s twine; Tattered Angels Mallard and Mustard Seed Glimmer mist; Versamagic Tea Leaves ink; American Crafts Bones thickers

I officially love baker’s twine (: I think I use it in almost every other layout, haha.

I flipped the sketch to the right so it would work for my photo. And I kept this layout pretty simple and went with a more arty, fun feel.

I’m totally loving how it turned out (:

Recipe #4 of 20 tomorrow. Promise.

Now excuse me, while I go and pack for my trip tomorrow and try to squeeze all my stuff into a smaller-than-usual luggage. Haha.

Made with Love Scrap Challenge Take

6 February 2012

My weekend was plenty busy! Baking, scrapping, hanging out with friends and family. And church, most definitely (:

But I managed to make this layout for this scrap challenge at Made with Love, my local scrapbook store. This was a color challenge to use shades of kraft, brown, yellow, and green.

Project #7: Hello

Supplies: Bazzill Basics cardstock; Studio Calico Countryside, Autumn Press collections; We R Memory Keepers limeade baker’s twine; Maya Road kraft mini ticket strips; Keng paper tape; washi tape; American Craft forest thickers; Amy Tangerine Lovestruck clear stamps; date stamp; Versamagic Jumbo Java ink; buttons

I still love this camera stamp.

And I’m totally into banners still, can you tell? (:

I’ll be back soon with my recipe #4 of 20.
Happy Monday!