Critter Challenge #50 - Sketch

This week over at the Critter Sketch Challenge Blog is another fabulous sketch brought to us by our very own Design Team Member, Colleen. She has provided some awesome sketches this month. When I first saw this sketch I immediately saw an upside down Mickey Mouse head.. ok.. I know it isn't quite Mickey Mouse.. but close right?!?

So.. if you've been following my blog you will have noticed that I've been slowly... but surely.. working on our Disneyland/California trip that we took in the summer of 2009.. it is really hard to believe that it has been that long. So far I have completed 290 pages (145 for each boy's book). Yes, I know ... CRAZY!! But I feel that I want my boys to remember every moment of that trip - so I need to scrap most of the photos. It is definitely the last time (so I say now) that I will document a trip that much.

Anyways.. on to my creation for this week. This is really one of my most favourite layouts ever! It is clean and simple. I think it will be the last page in the Disney Album.



Here is the Sketch... as I did it - please see the Critter Sketch Challenge Blog post to see the unflipped sketch.


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I needed some mojo so....

So.. I've been in a bit of scrapbook funk. I just haven't felt creative. Yesterday I scrapbooked 15 pages.. I know you think.. WOW.. that's a lot.. but they were all swap pages.. just putting pictures onto ready made pages just isn't creative. Yesterday I went on a hunt for some new challenge sites.. and found a few that piqued my interest and got me scrapping.

Here is what I came up with...


I'm entering this in the blogs that inspired me yesterday...

XOXO Challenge Blog - January Challenge - sponsored by Sweet Peach Crop Shop

What I like about this challenge site is they encourage you to scraplift one of their layouts. So.. looking through the layouts I saw a piece of paper that I've been hoarding.. you know.. how you keep your favourite waiting for just the right layout.. well one of my New Year's Resolutions is to use up my stuff! All this new stuff coming out and I want it - but I need to make room for it first!

I chose to Scrapbook layout number 6. by NEW Lipstick Chick - Khristen Foss

Th next challenge I am choosing to enter is ...

The Nerdy Victorious Scrapbookers - Challenge #11 sponsored by Candy Shoppe Designs

On this challenge blog they provide a collage picture for inspiration. I took inspiration from the colour.. the overall grey feel on my background paper - and I accented with the red that is in there as well.

Scrapfit Blog - Workout #36 - Let's Strip sponsored by Scrapfit

I am forever saving the strips of paper - it drives my mom and sister crazy! Well I got to use up a few of them... the red (and I was lucky to find a scrap the right size to mat my photo). I also used up strips to punch the varying sizes of circles... so they may not look like strips - but they truly are!

Thanks for all the inspiration.. I think I have my mojo back!

No Pain, No Gain

I love these pictures… Carsyn took a big hit on the field, my hubby is the trainer for the team so he checked him out to make sure all was okay. He wasn’t down long before the helmet was back on and he was back raring to get back on the field. Carsyn just LOVES football and I just love scrapping his pictures.

Background paper - Sports stack
Circle sticker -
Journal paper - black gel pen paper

All-Star Ball

During Carsyn’s second (ever) football game he was chosen to be the Game’s Allstar. I remember that game vividly. I knew absolutely nothing about football, but knew that he was having a great game when I heard people talking about him. I still can hear a man saying “Boy that 26 is good.” I turned around and said “That’s my boy!” He told me he was an awesome player - when I told him it was only his 2nd game, he said “Well, you have a football player on your hands!” Carsyn has never looked back from that day, getting better and better every practice and every game he shows just what he has learned.

Challenge #47 - Blue and Silver with Rhinestones or Pearls

Welcome to another week at the Critter Sketch Challenge Blog. This week's sketch challenge is a color and embellishment challenge. We were to use the colors blue and silver and accent with either pearls or rhinestones.

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So here is my layout... this picture is of my best friend on her wedding day. My fabulous niece (15 at the time) did the photos and then worked her magic on Photoshop.. I love how she pulled the blue out of his motorcycle and left the rest black and white. Someday I want to grow up and be half as talented as she is!

Supplies: The background paper is from Close to My Heart
Silver - DCVW Metallics Stack
Black and Grey - Bazzill
Blue in the flowers - Coredinations
Flowers were punched with EK Success punches and layered.
Rhinestone Brads - Dollar Store
Rhinestons - Dollar Store
True Love - cut from Cricut - Love from Sweethearts - True - I think Simply Sweet - but not positive .. I did weld them on my Gypsy.
Mats - cut from Lacy Labels.

Palm Trees

Aren’t these photos amazing?! My (then 12 year old) son took these. When we went to Disneyland in 2009, we rented a car for our stay. We discovered that it was cheaper to pick the car up in Anaheim rather than the airport. So when we arrived, we walked the 2 blocks to pick up the car. Brayden stood underneath this tree and took the photos. I didn’t even know he had taken them until we had got home and I was uploading the photos.

Paper: Close to My Heart

Water Boy

First of all I'd like to wish Brayden a very Happy 14th Birthday!! I can't believe that this is your fourth birthday with us. Time has flown so quickly. I am so excited about the amazing young man you are growing into. We have certainly had our struggles, but thankfully we are past them and you are great kid! Love you buddy!!

So... in honour of Brayden's birthday I have chosen to share my favourite layout that I’ve done of him. I’m not sure why I love it so much is it is so basic.. but, it is so him!

The background paper is from a stack that I bought and figured with my active boys I would use every bit of it. However, it is one of those things that I’m saving… or maybe hoarding.. Even though I created this layout last year… one of my New Year’s resolutions is to use up my stash… so you will probably see more of it this year.

The water bottles are cut from Sportsmania, the glittered, chipboard letters are from the Dollar Giant, the black paper that I journaled on is paper from a gel pen notebook that I picked up at a garage sale… 10 cents for the whole booklet.

Redwood Creek Challenge Trail

These pictures were taken at California Adventure when we were there in 2009. I scrapped these pages during a day at one of our LSS. I found the paper in the clearance bin and the ribbon was in my stash. I cut the letters with the Pooh “wood” Font and welded them using Design Studio.

Critter Challenge Blog - Challenge #45 - Sketch!!

Welcome to another new term at the Critter Sketch Challenge Blog. I am honoured to be on thes team yet again. I absolutely love it. It keeps me motivated and often gets me out of a continuous rut that I fall into where all of my pages look the same.

This week's sketch challenge was created by our very own design team member Colleen.

This week we ask you to create a card or scrapbook page using the sketch below. You can flip it every which way......if you want to, but we do need to see the basic design of the sketch.

Now, onto my creation. My boys and I are creating an 8x8 album for a special someone so I thought this sketch really worked well for an 8x8 page.

I stayed pretty true to the sketch - except for the ribbon and bow, because it was a Nerf Gun page I thought the bow was a little much so i chose just simple ric rac. I used my most favourite punch, the Jolee star punch. I also used my Cricut to cut the photo into a circle (first time for me) as well as the circle mat and the ovals.


I loved how quick and easy this was for me - less than an hour from start to finish! Here is the sketch for this week.. make sure you enter your creation at the Critter Sketch Challenge Blog!



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