GYSO #5

>> Monday, January 31, 2011

I was a little bit worried about completing this week's challenge for GetYourSketchOn.  

Our sponsor this week is the wonderful Pink Cat Studio, and the design team was asked to use one of their images on our layout.  I love their designs but honestly have only ever thought of digital stamps as something to be used on cards, not on scrapbook layouts.  

Fortunately it turned out to be really easy to incorporate the image onto my page.  I simply printed it out, colored it with pencil crayons and then used dimensional adhesive to attach it to a cardstock sticker that had an edge I liked but didn't suit my theme. 

SUPPLIES
Sassafras patterned paper, cardstock stickers, journaling block
Bazzil cardstock
Pebbles Inc ribbon, flower charm
Jillibean Soup corrugated alphas & shapes
American Crafts thickers
PolkadotdoorDesigns cupcake pins

If you head over to the GYSO blog you will be able to see this week's sketch, and have a chance to win this week's prize - 5 digital images of your choice from Pink Cat Studio.


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{rebecca} Sometimes all you need is a good reason.

>> Friday, January 28, 2011

I can't remember the last time I made a scapbook page. Whenever I sit down to craft its always cards, so much so that the thought of doing a scrapbook page had become a little scary. Sarah does such beautiful work that I can't help but feel like that it is her 'domain' and I had better stick with cards. but .... we were talking the other night about how hobbies (like scrapbooking!) aren't about being the best or creating works of art all the time, its about preserving memories and having fun ... even when you know you aren't going to be the best. I was inspired to try again and here is my attempt. I don't know if this means I'll be scrapping a lot more in the future, but it does mean that I had a memory I wanted to preserve and I had lots of fun!

I machine stitched around the edges as well as distressed with my chocolate ink. The flowers are hand-made and I sprayed (lots!) of glimmer mist on the thickers to make them the colour I wanted. The colour they were originally did not quite match :-) The Rubons are from my (fast) decreasing supply of Chatterbox. If anyone knows where I could get some more I would be eternally grateful!

Can`t help feeling like it looks a lot like a card I just made . . . . 



SUPPLIES:
Making Memories Paper
Sassafrass Brads
K an Co. Brads
Bazzill Cardstock
Chatterbox Rubons
Thickers
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist

Have a great day!

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Get Sketchy #72


This week's Get Sketchy card challenge is another good one! I knew as soon as I saw the sketch that it would be the perfect way to use one of the gorgeous handmade paper flowers that I got from UmWowStudio and when I paired it with patterned paper from Graphic 45's Springtime collection. Ah spring...how I miss you...
 SUPPLIES
Graphic 45 patterned paper
Recollections cardstock
Making Memories metal frame
UmWowStudio handmade paper flower
Maya Road leaf pin
Unknown seam binding, thread

I have been seeing seam binding showing up all over the place in the scrappy/cardmaking world lately and I had been lamenting the fact that I did not have any.  So you can imagine my surprise and joy (yes, joy, I am pretty simple to please) when I discovered a package of seam binding in the deep dark recesses of my trim drawer. Actually, it was something I had picked up at the thrift store probably a year ago and bought without any clue of what it was. Guess I foresaw a trend without even knowing it!

Anyway, go check out the rest of the design team's work over at the Get Sketchy blog - I know I say it every week, but there are some GORGEOUS examples this week, and of course a great prize if you are so inclined to play along with the challenge.



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Inspirational Card Sketches #99

>> Wednesday, January 26, 2011

I'm a day late, but still wanted to show you the newest sketch from ICS! What a fun sketch we had to work with this week. I loved how this card came turned out! Very simple, but combining some of my favourite elements. Vintage dictionary paper, buttons, stitching, distressing and .... simple!


Our sponsor this week is DZ Doodles and the design team was provided with some awesome images, you have to go to ICS to see what the team did. This weeks winner will receive 3 free images from DZ Doodles!  

Well, I'm off to a fun filled day with some of my favourite guys so no more crafting today. But I'll have some more posts for you this week!
Have a great day,

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Get Sketchy #71

>> Saturday, January 22, 2011

This week PinkCatStudio sponsored the Get Sketchy card challenge, and all of us lucky girls on the design team received some of their adorable digital images to work with.  I had a really hard time picking which image to use and almost ended up making two cards for the challenge!

I love this adorable trio of owls riding a unicycle, it's perfect for a child's birthday card.

SUPPLIES
PinkCatStudio digital image
My Mind's Eye patterned paper, pom pom trim
Recollections cardstock
K & Co. glitter

For a chance to win 5 digital images of your choice from PinkCatStudio, join us over at Get Sketchy for this week's card challenge.

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Think Pink! - Do you Stack Up?

I think the card fits in very well with Do You Stack Up?'s newest Challenge - Think Pink! My other sister is expecting her first baby girl, so what better way to find inspiration for a baby card, than a pink challenge? It is also entered in the Pollycraft Monday Pastel Colours Challenge.



 Have a great day!

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You are a Blessing!

>> Wednesday, January 19, 2011

ColourQ has long been one of my favourite challange blogs and so when I needed a card for my Grandmother this week, I knew exactley where to look for some colourful inspiration! Some Chatterbox paper that I have had in my stash for years worked perfectly with this weeks challenge.


Another site that I went to for some inspiration is the brand new, and utterly adorable new blog: Do You Stack Up?  This is only thier 2nd challenge, but how could I not play along when the challenge is "No Stress, Distress!" Of course I had to laugh a little, its more of a challenge for me "not" to distress a card, but I had fun playing along anyways!

I also used the very last 2S4Y sketch for this card.




Blessings to You!

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GYSO#3

>> Monday, January 17, 2011

We're on our third sketch over at the new sketch site - Get Your Sketch On - and it just keeps getting better and better.  

Unfortunately morning sickness is still going strong so I've been a bit lacking in the energy and creativity departments, but I did manage to put together a simple page for this week's challenge. I  used some photos I took of my son and little brother back in the fall... back before our lovely wetland park got buried under four feet of snow. How I miss those sunny days... and actually having the energy to go out of the house with the kids!
SUPPLIES
My Mind's Eye patterned paper, pom-pom trim, journaling card
Jillibean Soup corrugated alphas & shapes
October Afternoon tiny type alphas
Basic Grey cardstock stickers


You really should head over to the GYSO blog to check out what the other designers did with this sketch, there are some gorgeous layouts this week! Plus, if you play along with us you could win a $25 Stampin' Up gift certificate.


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I Really Like You - ICS Sketches January 18

Quick little post to show the newest card abased on Dawns great sketch at ICsketches. As always there is loads of inspiration and fun prizes. Go check it out!


Have a wonderful, snowy day!

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Get Sketchy #70

>> Friday, January 14, 2011

This week's Get Sketchy card challenge has been posted and it is a good one.  I am not sure what it is about this sketch, but I think it may be my favorite so far.  My card came together really quickly and I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

Of course, it helped that I had some gorgeous new paper from Graphic 45 to play with.  I just love their "Once Upon a Springtime" line... gives me hope that someday we might actually get out from all this snow!


SUPPLIES
Graphic 45 patterned paper
Recollections kraft cardstock
Prima pearls
Unknown rub-on
Paper Flowers handmade by UmWowStudio

Don't you just love the handmade paper flowers?!?  They are from this fabulous etsy shop.  




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ICS January 11th Card Sketch

>> Tuesday, January 11, 2011

 We've recently moved up to Edmonton as a family and I have to say that this is one of the most perfect winders ever! Over the past few days we've gotten over a foot of snow in a continuous snowfall that doesn't look like it will be stopping anytime soon. Its not the most convenient for those people who need to be out and about, but its been a wonderful excuse to stay inside with a cup of hot tea and relax, or in my case, catch up on some cards that needed to be made!

This card isn't what I usually make, instead of the distressed look I put away my inks and used some bright papers. Oh what fun I had with it too! The Bo Bunny papers are ones that I have had for a while and were just the right colours to match my mood this week - very cheerful!

The design team at ICsketches has provided lots of inspiration for you this week, head over to the blog to see all the other great cards from the rest of the design team. Our sponsor this week is Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps and she is giving away 5 digital stamps to the winner of this week's sketch! What are you waiting for?


SUPPLIES:
Bo Bunny Paper
Thickers
Ribbon

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We Have A Winner!

>> Monday, January 10, 2011

Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by the blog this weekend for the Apron Strings Blog Hop! I am so excited to have some new followers and I really appreciate all the lovely comments that were left.

Now, I promised a prize to one lucky commenter, and that person is -

Lisa W, January 9, 2011 5:01 PM

Your layout is adorable. I love all of the supplies you get in the kits.

Congratulations Lisa!  Just send an email to Lori@apronstringsdesigns.com and let her know that you are the winner of the Cookie Jar Treat from Sarah's blog and she will get it sent out to you right away. 

And before I go, here is another one of the layouts I created using the January 2011 Bigger Than a Breadbox kit.  


Happy Monday, 

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Apron Strings Blog Hop

>> Friday, January 7, 2011

Apron Strings Designs is hosting a blog hop this weekend to introduce the new Sous Chefs (design team) for 2011 and this blog is a stop on the hop because I am one of the lucky girls who was chosen to be part of  this year's team. 

Here is one of the layouts that I created with this month's "Bigger Than a Breadbox" kit; it was full of gorgeous supplies from Echo Park, American Crafts, Ki Memories and more... and I got eight pages done using it!


There are a whole bunch of really good reasons to choose Apron Strings Designs, one of which is "make your wallet happy membership pricing". 

To find out the other reasons why Aprons Strings is one of the most flexible and versatile monthly kit clubs, you will need to visit the other stops on the blog hop.  Each designer has an answer to the question "Why Apron Strings?"  in their post and if you collect all the answers you will be eligible to win this Basic Grey 2011 Calender kit!


Just send an email to Lori@apronstringsdesigns.com with your collected phrases by Sunday evening, January 9th, to be entered into the prize drawing.  

Also, check out the Apron Strings blog where Lori will be posting challenges all weekend with lots of prizes to be won.  

Each designer will also be giving away a prize to one lucky commenter on their blog, so leave a comment and maybe it will be you. We'll announce the winners on Monday morning.

Here are the links to the other designer's blogs - happy hopping!


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GS #69

It's time for the first Get Sketchy card challenge of the new year!  

This week's challenge was a fun one. 



I love the little house and it reminded me that I had a brand new package of "Dear Lizzy" accent Thickers which includes a cute bird house shape.  I paired it with some scraps of American Crafts patterned paper and cardstock for a really quick and easy Valentine's Day card. 

SUPPLIES
American Crafts cardstock, patterned paper, Thicker's accents, run-ons
Pebbles Inc. ribbon
Martha Stewart Punch


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Want to Win a $100 Gift Certificate?!?

>> Thursday, January 6, 2011

To celebrate the launch of Get Your Sketch On we are giving away an amazing prize - a $100 gift certificate to  a store of your choice!


There are multiple ways to earn entries so head over to the GYSO blog for all the details.

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Some Announcements of My Own

>> Tuesday, January 4, 2011

I realize that I haven't been very diligent in updating the blog lately -  fortunately Rebecca is back from her world travels so she is contributing regularly and making up for my lack - but I still feel bad. In my defense though, I do have a very good excuse.  

I have been working on a really, really big project. 

Actually, that's a lie.  It's a really tiny project, the kind that takes about nine months to finish. 

I should have pictures to post mid-July.

I have also been working on something else, though not quite as exciting, or all-consuming (and thankfully not morning-sickness inducing).

For the past four months I have been a design team member for Get Sketchy card challenges, and this month we launched a sister blog for scrapbook layout sketches called Get Your Sketch On.  


We have a fabulous design team to inspire you and some awesome sketches (and prizes) lined up, so please check out the new blog.  We'd love to have you play along!



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Inspirational Card Sketches DT!

I'm thrilled to announce that I (Rebecca) am among the lucky ones chosen to be on the Inspirational Card Sketches newest design team! I am so honoured to be working along side some great designers and with wonderful sponsors as well. If you have never been to ICSketches, you really ought to check out the blog. I love working with the sketches and there are some great prizes to be won every week!


The other designers on the team:




This week's sponsor is Pattie's Creations, a fun etsy shop that has some wonderful digital stamps. Pattie is giving away 3 digital stamps to the winner of this weeks ICSketch challenge! What are you waiting for? Head over and take a peak at what the girls have done with this weeks sketch! Without further adieu, I present my creation based off of the newest sketch.

SUPPLIES:
MM Rhinestones
My Mind's Eye Paper
MM 3D Metal Tag
Wood Veneer
Vintage Ribbon

Have a wonderful week! 


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Sassy Lil' Sketches

>> Saturday, January 1, 2011

The blog has been a little quiet over the Christmas holidays as Sarah and I have both been very busy! Isn't that how it always goes? Christmas has been wonderfully crazy and filled with family and friends which makes finding time to scrap a little harder these days, but that will change, very soon! This is just a super quick post to let you know that I made the design team over at Sassy Lil' Sketches. A blog not only for cardmaking, but scrapbook sketches too, you really need to stop by a visit! I'm so excited to be a part of this wonderful team. The other ladies are so talented and Cherie and Katie do such a great job with the site.

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