Crafting with my November Counterfeit Kit (Part II)

I've managed to create two more layouts and a card using my November Counterfeit Kit.  I think that I might be able to eek out a few more cards before the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog releases the December inspiration kit.  Anyways, without further ado, here are the creations...

1.  Even After All These Years {a scrapbook layout}

The starting point for this sketch was another Scrapbook Steals sketch by Kristy Lee (Opal #4).  

For my layout, I just used one page of the sketch to scrap out a lovely visit from Danny and Brock back in March.  Justin was enlisted in the Navy with these boys oh so long ago and, even after all these years, the three of them are all such close friends.  Here is a close up of the title.

The page is pretty simple but it feels good to slowly eat away my long to do list of 2011 pages.

2.  April 2011 {a scrapbook layout}

Here is another month page.  This time, I started with an amazing sketch by Cathryn Hansen, the November guest designer for Scrapbook Steals (Opal #5).  Here is her amazing sketch.

I love how she included some little photos along the bottom.  And here is a close up of those lovely Sassafras blooms and stitches that I'm so in love with.

3.  Thinking of You {a card}

And finally, here is a card I made with some paper scraps.  The Studio Calico Cow paper just makes me smile.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Holiday Crafting

Before Thanksgiving sneaks up on me, I wanted to share some holiday craft projects.  

1.  Happy Thanksgiving Banner.

I made this beast using my trusty Cricut.  I cut the leaves from the "Feels Like Autumn" set at Lettering Delights.   The turkey is from the Create A Critter Cricut Cartridge.  To tie the banner together, I used some pretty bakers twine.  Here are some close-up photos.

The banner is hanging up in the living room.  Every time Charlotte sees it, she says "happy" and giggles at the turkey.  That alone makes this project worth it.

2.  Paper Pumpkin

I made this paper pumpkin just a few minutes ago using the "Threaded Pumpkin" file from Lettering Delights.  I didn't have the energy to scrapbook a layout but wanted to do some crafting before.  I'm sure Charlotte will tear it apart as soon as she sees it in the morning.  But I think it's pretty cute.

3.  Muffin Tin Advent Calendar

I've been wanting to make a muffin tin advent calendar since last year and I was shocked at how quick and easy it was to make.  First, cut out 24 squares in a solid colored cardstock that are 2.25 inches square.  Second, cut out 24 squares in a patterned paper that are 2 inches square.  

Paste the patterned paper onto the solid cardstock.  Embellish as you please.  Since I used papers and embellishments from the Imaginisce Little Helper collection, putting everything together was so simple. 

Finally, add adhesive magnetic strips (you can get them from Walmart or Michaels) and voila, a super cute and easy advent calendar! 

I'm planning to write out a Christmas/ Holiday activities for our family to do each day.  Hopefully this becomes a time honored family tradition.

4.  Snowflake Birthday Banner

And finally, here is a birthday banner I made for a friend.  Her daughter is turning one in early December and the party theme is snowflakes!

Hope everyone is doing well and getting ready for Thanksgiving!!  We're heading down to New Haven tomorrow for the Yale-Harvard game.  Not sure if we'll actually watch the football game but I'm sure we'll stumble onto a tailgate or two!

Boola Boola!

Crafting with my November Counterfeit Kit

Can I just tell you how much I'm loving my November Counterfeit Kit.  Before, when I would start a scrapbook page, I would spend a long time (sometimes hours) just thinking about what papers worked together, playing with color combinations, and rummaging through my boxes for the perfect embellishments.  (Yes, sadly, I have THAT much stuff.)  But now, with the Counterfeit Kit, I already have papers and embellishments preselected from my stash and can get scrapping almost immediately.  Just yesterday, I *nearly* finished an entire layout during Charlotte's nap time (which, for me, is unheard of).  So, with that, I wanted to share with you some layouts and a card I made with my counterfeit kit.

1.  January 2011 {a scrapbook layout}.  

I used this fantastic sketch  by Kristy Lee over at Scrapbook Steals (Opal #2) as my starting point.

Inspired by the shape and movement of the photo placement, I fussy cut some Studio Calico paper to create a frame around some photos.  

I then made my journaling spot by cutting out a circle, stamping it with a Hero Arts ledger stamp and stitching around it with some embroidery floss. 

2.  February 2011 {a scrapbook layout}.

 

This was another layout using a Kristy Lee sketch from Scrapbook Steals (Opal #3).

I'm in love with the Sassafras various blooms and in stitch blossoms.  They are super cute and make embellishing so quick and easy! 

To frame my photo collage, I cute apart a die cut sheet from Studio Calico.  I also cut out some banner pieces from Studio Calico Fabrips to embellish the top corner of my photo collage.

3.  March 2011 {a scrapbook layout}.   

If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to get caught up on our 2011 family album and these month pages with the photo collages make it a lot easier.  :)  I'm also trying to catch up with all the Opal sketch challenges at Scrapbook Steals.  So, as expected, my starting point was another Kristy Lee sketch (Opal #6).

My newest obsession has been these candy dots by Pebbles (which are just adhesive little button dots).  So cute!  I'm also trying to incorporate more washi tape into my layouts.

In trying to add some pops of color to the layout, I did some random blue stitching around the flower cutout.

And I am kindove in love with these Jenni Bowlin Studio stick pins (which are just decorated needles/ pushpins).  Sadly, I just don't know how to use them.  So I just stuck it with the flowers here.

4.  Wedding Wishes {a card}.

For my final November Counterfeit Kit creation (well, for purposes of this post at least...), here is a wedding card I made.  

I cut out the circle card and scallop shape using my Cricut and Sure Cuts A Lot software.  The sentiment and banner stamps are from Lawn Fawn.  And aside from that, I used American Craft Thickers to spell out the names and added faux stitching with a black Sharpie around the circle.

Whew, that was a lot!  :)  

As always, thanks for stopping by!!!

November Counterfeit Kit Challenge

I like to tell people that my interest in scrapbooking developed very quickly and very intensely.  So much so that I have probably more paper than I know what to do with.  Thanks to my friends Brenda S and Heather C, I discovered the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog.  Every month, they select an inspiration kit and readers are encourage to "counterfeit" the inspiration kit pieces/ themes/ colors/ etc. with supplies already in their stash.  I thought that this was the perfect way to actually use the supplies I already own and simplify how I scrapbook.  So far, it has been so fun.

So for this month, the inspiration kit is the Scraptastic Club November 2011 Autumn Splendor Kit. 

And here is what I chose from my stash to make my Counterfeit Kit.

Here are the embellishments for my counterfeit kit.  Some Cosmo Cricket stickers, Studio Calico die cuts, Sassafras blooms and paper whimsies, Glimmer Mist, floss, Pebbles Candy Dots...

The letter stickers and other journal stickers from American Crafts, Sassafras, Jillibean Soup, October Afternoon, Cosmo Cricket, Studio Calico...

This is the solid colored cardstock.

And here is the patterned paper I choose.  A lot of Studio Calico, some Crate Paper, Cosmo Cricket and Pink Paislee.

And here are the B sides to some the patterned paper above.

I focused primarily in trying to match the colors and the feel of the inspiration kit!  So far, I have already made two layouts and a card using the kit as my starting point.  I will be sure to share those soon.  But for now, make sure to visit the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog if you're interested to play along too!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Tet - Lunar New Year {a scrapbook layout}

The other night, I finally sat down and made a list of all the layouts I need to complete for our 2011 family album.  Let's just say that I still have a lot to do.  So you are hereby forewarned that we might be having some flashbacks with my pages for the next couple of...well, forever (because I doubt that I will ever actually catch up).  :)

For this week's Sketchy Thursday challenge, I scrapped some photos from this year's Tet celebration.  Tet is the Vietnamese Lunar New Year and is, hands down, my favorite holiday of the year.  It's a time for the ENTIRE family to get together, eat, celebrate, remember our elders, and try our new luck gambling!  So here is the layout...

And here is the sketch that this layout is based on...

For the larger photo, I created a black and white photo collage.  There were just too many memories to choose from.  The black and white collage also allowed the smaller color photo of me and Charlotte to stand out.  

I also wanted to include some heritage inspired elements.  So, I added a die cut of the branch with the hanging lanterns along the top.  This image reminds me of the gorgeous yellow apricot blossoms that would fill the house during Tet.  Using my Imaginese irock, I added little gemstones to make the flowers stand out a bit.  I also sprayed a little bit of glimmer mist to create a subtle shadow. 

On the tag, to signify that this was the year of the rabbit, I added another die cut image.

Most of the papers are from the My Mind's Eye So Sophie collection.  The tag is from Studio Calico and the letter stickers are from American Crafts and October Afternoon.  As always, thanks for stopping by!

Guess Who's Ready for Christmas?

We Are Finally There {a scrapbook layout}

For those that have been following this blog, you know that we recently completed a cross country adventure from San Diego, California to Newport, Rhode Island with a two week stop over in Dahlgren, Virginia.  The photo in this layout was shot minutes after we unloaded our car and checked into our hotel.  This hotel room would be our home for two weeks and we were so excited to finally be done (for at least a little bit).  Just like the little sticker says, "Smiles All Around!"

Since this layout commemorates our trip across the United States, it's my play on stars (see that blue star paper) and {chevron} stripes.  But I do know that there is a lot going on that probably needs some explanation (for better or for worse). 

First, I used this amazing sketch from the 10.27 Sketch Thursday Challenge as my starting point.  I've watched a LOT of amazing scrapbookers play along each week.  I finally took the plunge and decided to play along too.

Second, the title.  "...we are finally there."  I swear I speak good English.  :)  

It's a response on the age-old whiny road trip question: "are we there yet?"  Every time Charlotte got fussy or angry during our drive, I imagined that if she could talk, she would be screaming:  "GET ME THERE ALREADY!" 

Third, check out this banner. 

I used map paper from the American Crafts Amy Tangerine collection.  Amazingly enough, the paper actually includes a large chunk of the route we drove through Arizona to Virginia.  The little blue brads are actually placed to mark some of the cities we stopped to visit (like Albuquerque, Amarillo, Memphis...)

The bottom of the layout includes another portion of the map tracking some additional cities we visited through Virginia (highlighted in the orange brads). 

What I initially hoped was to create a layered look of banner pennants.  However, the map pennants effectively covered the bottom layer of kraft pennats that I stamped with Lawn Fawn Teeny Tiny Backdrops.  Since they were so cute, I wanted to show you anyways.

Fourth, I added some hand stitching to incorporate more of that orange color.

And finally, for the journaling, I used Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type to write out the following along the perimeter of the layout: 

"We left San Diego bright and early on September 20.  After 9 states, 14 days of travelling, over 2800 miles of driving and only 1 mommy meltdown...we are finally there."

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Update 11/3:  Thanks for all the lovely comments!   Happy to say that this layout was chosen as a Sketchy Thursday Fave!  Aw...it's the little things that totally make my day.  :)