PWP & MIM

Well, the tournament went well yesterday! I was so proud of how well my kids competed, what great attitudes they had (when only one of us brought home a medal) and how good they were (behaviour-wise) throughout a very long day! I'm hoping to share some photos soon...

I just wanted to share a couple of things today.... First up is the April Pages with Papertrey Sketch:

And here's the layout I made with it:

I used Echo Park patterned paper, Papertrey Ink cardstock (kraft, harvest gold), stamps (movers & shakers sentiments, Simply You), button, twine dies (Edgers #5, Block Alphabet numbers). I created this layout using Lesson #10 from the Scrapbooker's Stamping Workshop, to add a button to a stamped image.

Here are a few close-up shots:

And I also wanted to share the card that I made using this week's Make It Monday at PTI, where the challenge was to create a flower using non-flower dies.

I used PTI cardstock (rustic cream), stamps (rosie posie, dress form sentiments) & dies (heart, tag sale #3). I used Crate and Echo Park patterned paper and a Basic Grey fabric brad.

Thanks for looking!

Five for Friday

Five "firsts" for me this week...

1. My kids have been participating in the Morden Festival of the Arts since Austin was in kindergarten. They've participated in Speech Arts and Piano. This week, Sage & Jonah presented two poems each, one in French and one in English. They both did really well, earning an A+ on each one.

On Monday evening, I received a phone call from one of the festival organizers, who asked me if I would be interested in adjudicating for the Speech Arts on Tuesday afternoon & evening. I was quite surprised, as I've never done it before. But they were in a bind & I thought I could help them out, so I said yes.

I was nervous, but my chairperson was amazing and very encouraging. And I had a lot of fun! The organizer suggested that I attend a workshop and get on the list of adjudicators, so I can do it at festivals around the province. A very cool idea, for sure!

(Oh, and another first for me for Festival will take place Sunday evening, when I participate in the festival-- I'm playing a duet with Sage on the piano! Wish me luck!)

2. The kids and I are participating in our annual Premier Taekwondo Championships tomorrow.  Jonah is participating in patterns. Austin & I are participating in patterns & board breaking. Sage is participating in patterns & sparring. And I will be also be a ring manager for the patterns and for the sparring competitions, something I've never done before. I'm a little nervous, but am hoping I'll do a good job.

3. In preparation for tomorrow's tournament, I practised board breaking last night in tkd class. I broke three boards, one of them with a jump back kick, which is something I've never done before.

4. I've been sugar-free & deep-fried-foods-free for over 100 days now.... 103, to be precise. ;) I weighed myself this morning and I have lost 11 lbs so far. AND, this week, for the first time, someone asked me if I've lost weight! Yes! It's nice that it's starting to be noticeable...

5. I made a layout and a card using Sketch #6 of Kelly Purkey's Sketchbook 4, this afternoon. Here's the layout, where I used five of the same photo on a layout (a first for me!)...

I used Bazzil cardstock (12x12), PTI cardstock (rustic cream) & dies (pinking border, block alphabet), Echo Park (yellow) & Studio Calico (orange, blue) patterned paper and SU! cardstock (island indigo).

Here's a close up of the journaling:

And here's the card I made (it's for Jonah for tomorrow to encourage him for the tournament) using the same patterned paper and cardstock (even though the island indigo looks darker here, it's not in real life.)

I also use PTI stamps (boy basic: game on) & dies (star border).

Any firsts for you this week?

Thanks for looking!

Sketchbook 4 -- Sketch #5

I'd forgotten how challenging some of Kelly Purkey's Sketchbook sketches can be.... they're definitely good at getting me outside of my comfort zone! I thought yesterday's circles were challenging, but today's sketch had large rectangles placed on.... gasp!.... angles! Eek! For someone who loves 90 degree angles, this can be a little stressful!

But here's what I came up with...

For my layout, I chose a photo I took of Jonah displaying his talent on our trampoline. I cut strips of Simple Stories patterned paper and adhered them on an angle with some PTI Distressed Stripes stamped in between.

I used PTI cardstock (rustic cream, canyon clay), stamps (distressed stripes) and dies (block alphabet). The patterned paper is Simple Stories.

I typed out my journaling on the computer, after my patterned paper was adhered. I adhered my strip of cardstock in place and then trimmed off the edges of my background.

And here's the card I made:

I used PTI cardstock (rustic white, aqua mist, harvest gold), stamps (distressed stripes, modern wood mats, boy basics: game on) and dies (mat stack #5, seeing stars). The patterned paper is Studio Calico and the star border stamps & decorative brad are My Mind's Eye.

Thanks for looking!

Sketchbook 4 -- Sketch #4

Today, I'm sharing a layout and a card that I made using the fourth sketch from Sketchbook #4. I was a little stumped at first, as I'm not a huge fan of circles on layout (I like my straight edges!) But, then, I remembered the April Challenge on the My Mind's Eye blog: to use hexagons on your project. From there, my layout came together pretty quickly...

I used My Mind's Eye patterned paper & decorative brads. I also used Papertrey Ink block alphabet dies and smokey shadow cardstock to make my title.

Here's a close-up of my journaling:

For my card, I was inspired by the placement of the circles and decided to selectively ink the large image from my Lace Bouquet stamp set:

I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (soft stone, ocean tides) & stamps (lace bouquet & Think Big Favourites #5), buttons & twine.

Thanks for looking!

A banner birthday card

Did you have a good Easter?

Ours was good, but loooooong..... LOL! We got up at 6am to attend our church's sunrise service at a cemetery on the hill..... There's something so fabulous about having a sunrise service celebrating the One who conquered death in a cemetery.... Then we had a continental breakfast at church, followed by another church service, then Sunday school (where I got to play a crying and babbling Mary Magdalene). After a quick lunch at home, we drove to my mom's in Winnipeg to celebrate Easter with her. It felt so good to climb into my bed last night....

I thought I'd share a card today. I made this card last month for the Papercrafts submission call. It was for one of their sketches...

I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (stamper's select white, soft stone), stamps (Boy Basics: Game On), buttons & dies (tag sale #5 (trimmed down to make the banners) and tiny tags). The patterned paper is My Mind's Eye.

Thanks for looking!

Sketchbook 4 -- Sketch #3

This afternoon, I made a layout and a card using the third sketch from the Sketchbook 4 workshop.

Here's the layout:

I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (sweet blush, raspberry fizz, vintage cream), stamps (wonderful words additions) & dies (double-ended banner, half & half, mat stack #5, wonderful words). I also used Bazzill cardstock (12zx12), My Mind's Eye & Crate Paper patterned paper & MME decorative brads.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

And here is the card, which I made with this week's MIM challenge at Papertrey Ink: Generational Stamping:

I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (rustic white, harvest gold), stamps (happy day, pretty peonies), ribbon, twine, buttons & dies (happy day).

Thanks for looking!

Five for Friday

Five things that are making me happy this week:

1. Our community Good Friday service this morning. Great praise & worship, a wonderful sermon, communion & a few minutes of visiting with friends afterwards. It's my favourite church service of the year!

2. Getting a shout-out on Nichole Heady's blog for this card that I posted earlier this week.

3. Decorating Easter eggs with the kids on Tuesday evening...

I love that they all still want to participate in our yearly tradition!

We started with dyeing our eggs...

Then, once they were dry, I decided to try Betsy Veldman's technique for stamping on Easter eggs. I stamped with some Rosie Posie & Scrambled Eggs stamps on some tissue paper and then cut out the images. I used a paint brush and some white glue mixed with water to glue the tissue paper to the eggs. When Sage came to join me & try some on her own, we made a discovery.... the ink bled through the tissue paper and onto the eggs! So we removed the tissue paper and ended up with stamped images on the eggs!

For the butterflies and the sentiments, we stamped directly on the eggs.

On this top egg (above & pictured below), I stamped the Rosie Posie stamps using this week's MIM challenge at Papertrey Ink: Generational Stamping. It's faint, but has a pretty effect.

4. Sage & I decided that we wanted to use our PTI Scrambled Eggs stamp set to make some cupcake toppers for our Easter gatherings this weekend. This morning, we baked our cupcakes & iced them after lunch.

And here are the toppers we made last weekend (they turned out so adorable!)

Sage made the little white bunnies (& on the back, we added little cotton ball tails!)

We're looking forward to bringing these to Cam's family gathering tonight & to my mom's on Sunday!

5. Anticipating Easter & all it represents, celebrating Jesus' death & resurrection with family & friends!

Thanks for looking!

Sketchbook 4 -- Sketch #2

I wanted to share the layout and card that I made with Sketch #2 for Kelly Purkey's Sketchbook 4 workshop at Studio Calico. First the layout...

I had these super colourful photos that were taken at the waterpark last summer that I thought could work well with the sketch.... I used some Crate, Fancy Pants, Echo Park, My Mind's Eye & Lily Bee patterned paper from my scrap folder, along with my Papertrey Ink Simple Circle border die to make the circle stacks. I also used my PTI Wonderful Words Additions stamp, along with this week's MIM challenge at Papertrey Ink: Generational Stamping to create a drop shadow on my word. I used my PTI Block Alphabet & Layerz Mat Stack #5 dies for my title, and a stamp from the PTI Movers & Shakers stamp set for my journaling.

The teacher I've been subbing for all week lost his father in an ATV accident on the weekend, so I thought I'd use the sketch to make a sympathy card for his students to sign and give to him when he gets back.

I used PTI cardstock (spring moss, rustic white), stamps (modern wood mats, love & marriage, botanical silhouettes), twine & buttons. The patterned paper is Crate.

Thanks for looking!

Scrapbooking workshops

A couple of weeks ago, I registered for the Scrapbook Stamper's Workshop at Two Peas and have been enjoying working through the challenges. Then, because I enjoyed it so much last year, I signed up for Kelly Purkey's Sketchbook 4 workshop at Studio Calico. Scrapbook Stamper's Workshop is self-paced, which I really enjoy. I was a little stressed about signing up for Sketchbook 4, with wondering if I'd be able to stay caught up.... I made a goal of making both a layout and a card with each sketch, but then yesterday, when I looked through my photo box for some photos to use, I came across two sets that would work.... so I ended up making two layouts and one card! Woohoo!

For both of my layouts, I pulled out some brand new Bo Bunny patterned paper that I picked up in Winnipeg last week.... and for my first layout, I also used this week's MIM challenge at Papertrey Ink: Generational Stamping:

I used Bo Bunny patterned paper and Papertrey Ink stamps (Simply You) and dies (journaling tabs). Pretty simple, as I didn't feel I need very many embellishments with this patterned paper. But, I was pleased with the generational stamping technique for my title:

Then, I didn't want to waste the back of the piece of patterned paper I used for my background, so I made another layout, using photos taken the same day/week... and for this layout, I also used Lesson #5 from Scrapbook Stamper's Workshop, to add hand stitching to a stamped image:

I used Bo Bunny patterned paper and Papertrey Ink stamps (Iconic Images) and dies (Wonderful Words).  I made some decorative brads with the tiny Iconic Images images using my SU! Build-a Brads. The green foam thickers are American Crafts.

And lastly, here's the card I made with the sketch:

I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (kraft, pure poppy, rustic white), stamps (text boxed , modern wood mats) & dies (half & half).

Thanks for looking!

Combining challenges

I wanted to share a birthday card that I made last night for two challenges: for this week's MIM challenge at Papertrey Ink: Generational Stamping and for Melissa Phillips' Monday With Melis Challenge #1, which was a recipe challenge to include: a heart, Birthday themed, scallops, a background stamp & buttons.

Here's the card I made:

I inked up my new Tremendous Treats Birthday stamps to make this card that I think would be great for a kid! I stamped the MIM technique using PTI Turning a New Leaf stamps. I also used PTI cardstock (stamper's select white, rustic white, aqua mist), button & dies (heart border die, cloud). The patterned paper is all Echo Park, except for the My Mind's Eye piece that I used for the monkey. I covered the cloud die with some Smooch for a little shimmer and shine.

Thanks for looking!

A late-night post

Okay, more like a later-evening post, but late-night sounds cooler, right?

I just wanted to post one more layout that I made for this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: computer generated sentiments on diecuts. I also used Scrapbook Stamper's Workshop Lesson #4: where we were challenged to stamp the same stamp multiple times using different colours. I decided to use my new PTI Beautiful Butterflies stamps/dies to create this layout...

I used PTI cardstock (stamper's select white, harvest gold), stamps (Beautiful Butterflies) & dies ((Beautiful Butterflies, tag sale #5).

Here's a close up of the MIM technique:

Thanks for looking!

Pages with Papertrey -- Challenge #8

Hey there! I'm just popping in today to post the latest Pages With Papertrey challenge, which is to use ribbon on your layout. Yep. That's it. This might not seem like a difficult challenge for you, but it's something that I personally struggle with.....

I found that one of the easiest ways to include ribbon is with a tag (that way there's no "bow-tying" to worry about...)

I used Papertrey cardstock (sweet blush), stamps (wonderful words additions, rosie posie) ribbon & dies (tag sale #3, block alphabet). I also used My Mind's Eye patterned paper, AC cardstock (12x12) & decorative brads (SEI & MME).

I also used Scrapbook Stamper's Workshop Lesson #2: stamp on a tag. I used the hexagon shapes from my Rosie Posie set to stamp on the background of the tag.

If you'd like to play along with this month's Pages With Papertrey challenge, just link up your layout here in the comments or here on the PTI forum, so I can see what you created!

Thanks for looking!