Back to the Sketches... #16

Considering "Sketches" is right in my blog name, I figure it's about time to start putting some sketches here again! I didn't realize quite how much I've been slacking until I had to go back to March to find the last sketch... So I'll start off with a bang with one 12x12 sketch converted to a 8.5x11 layout and a card!

product lists

Card: Basic Grey papers, Autumn Leaves stamp, Bazzill cardstock, pinking scissors, Brilliance black ink.

layout: MM Noteworthy 2 papers, die-cut accent and tiny alpha stickers; Ranger paint daubers; Red Star journaling stamp; Fontwerks Printed number stamp; AC pen; Bazzill cardstock

I hope you find some inspiration in this simple sketch... leave me a comment with a link if you do!

Thank you!!!

Thanks to everyone who came to my Open House! It went really well, and I had a lot of fun. I hope you all had as much fun as I did. I was nervous, but I think I did okay. I definitely learned a lot already... I can't wait until the orders come and you can start playing with your new goodies!

Thanks to everyone who has posted well wishes here too, even though they're too far away to come. Your encouragement means a lot to me.

Summer vacation has officially started here, and my work schedule has changed, so I'm planning on starting up the sketch challenges again this week. I might be doing some card sketches instead of scrapbook sketches sometimes when I'm pressed for time to make it easier on myself. If anyone is interested in doing a layout or card with the sketches ahead of time, please e-mail me. I'll send you the sketch a week before I post it here, and I'll post your example here on the blog with mine.

Stampin' Up! Open House!

I've been having fun playing with the goodies from my starter kit. I chose Always, Priceless, Wonderful Words, Dare to be Darling and Much Appreciated as my stamp sets, and went with the In Colours for my inks and cardstocks... and I'm almost ready for my open house! I've set two dates, hoping that most of the people I've invited will be able to make it one of them. Tuesday, June 17th at 7:30 is my first night, and Sunday June 22 at 2:30 is my second open house. There will be door prizes and incentive prizes--thanks Anne for the extra goodies! I also have two make and takes planned:

This card (based on a weekend sketch by Beate) uses the Always stamp set, Purely Pomegranate, River Rock and Black inks and Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate, River Rock and Soft Sky cardstocks.

This card uses the Dare to be Darling and Always stamp sets, Whisper White, River Rock and Blue Bayou cardstocks, and Versamark, Wild Wasabi, Blue Bayou, Purely Pomegranate and Black inks. I might still add some punched flowers to each of the circles...

Everyone is welcome at my Open House, so let me know if you're interested in coming out and I'll give you directions!

late June DT stuffs...

I can't believe it's the 10th already! Grayson's nine now, and we've had three parties, but I think the festivities are done now. He's also playing soccer so that makes our schedule a little more full... Here's what I did with my June Red Star Kit (SEI Dill Blossom, Pink Paislee Spring Fling, Heidi Swapp embellishments and my favourite Doodlebug alpha stickers just to name a few items):

Check out what the rest of the Design Team did in the Gallery!

The June kit at BYOM is full of American Crafts: Amplified papers, scalloped velvet ribbon, chipboard pieces, photo turns and thickers along with Bazzill flowers and paper brads. Here's what I did:

and you can see what the rest of the Design Team in the gallery!

A Stampin Up! adventure...

I've decided that stamping isn't enough... I need to spread the love/addiction and join the Stampin Up! team. My starter kit is on the way to my house, and I already have card ideas swimming in my head. Is it a good sign or a bad sign that I'm dreaming about cards and stamps? Anyway, I'm planning on having an open house as soon as I have some samples and make and takes ready (early to mid-June) and I'll be sure to post here in case any local girls want to join in the fun! Thanks to Kelly and Anne (my upline) for answering my many questions... I'm sure there will be more to come!

May DT stuff

The May kit at BYOM is bursting with colour! I love these Frenzy papers from WeRMemory Keepers, and they go so well with the Scenic Route arrows, Doodlebug buttons and Bazzill Edges. I love the texture on the Bazzill chipboard letters too. I made my first acrylic album using the Fancy Pants Bracket Album, and spent quite a bit of time on it, but I'm thrilled with the way it turned out! To see all of it, check my Blog Gallery. You can see everything the BYOM design team created here

The May Red Star Kit was a lot of fun to work with. Scenic Route might be one of my favourites, and this kit has it mixed with Basic Grey! Add some Bazzill edges, yummy American Crafts ribbon, chipboard accent thickers, Basic Grey rub-ons and glazed brads, and some Scenic Route labels and chipboard people, and you've got another great kit! Marcy designed the journaling stamp (you can see it best in "Zipline" and it's another great one! You can see what the rest of the DT did with the kit here. Always lots of inspiration!

*puppy trim was inspired by a sketch by Asa Bergstrand*

Happy (early) Mother's Day to ME!!!

Chris and the kids did their Mother's Day shopping yesterday, and then couldn't wait until next weekend to surprise me. Lucky me, because that means I have a whole extra week to play with this:

I've been wanting a new (good quality) camera for a little while now, and have tried out the different cameras in the stores, and this is the one I had my heart set on. A Nikon d40x... I've been having a lot of fun playing, and now really need to take advantage of all the photography information out there and learn everything I can! Thanks Chris and Grayson and Morgan!!! It's the best present ever!

DT stuff is coming... I got my MSS kit a bit late this month, so I'm still working on the layouts, and I made a clear mini-album with my BYOM kit and the Fancy Pants clear bracket album. I'm doing an online class at BYOM next week, so look for a link to that here. I still wanted to do a layout or two with that kit too, so I'm waiting to post everything at once!