Scrap Your Story :: love spring

It's FRIDAY and you know what that means -- a new challenge goes live at Scrap Your Story Challenges!  This week we are working with one of Christy's sketches!  Here's my layout:

The journaling is about how my wonderful family stopped and let me take this photo, even though the weather was bad, we were hungry, and on our way out to eat.  But I just had to get a photo of the grass...it is turning green.  I am thankful for that -- because I am ready for spring.  Aren't you?  Here are a few close ups:

If you follow me on instagram or Facebook, you may have seen that I was letting scrapbooking stress me out this week!  Ever had one of those days/weeks where you waste a LOT of paper because none of your ideas work?  I had that this week!  Ugh.  Good news...I pushed through and I really like how my layout turned out! I got several happy packages in the mail this week, and that helped.  :-) 

The patterned papers and tags are from April's Scrapbook Circle kit, "Happy Place" and I added a couple of things from my stash. Also, I used some awesome washi that I got from a Paper Issues embellishment kit (some of the happy mail that arrived on my doorstep this week)! There is a complete list of supplies used at the bottom of this post.

Here's the sketch (I basically flipped it horizontally):

Come play with us!!!  It's so much fun to see what others create based on the same sketch!

I will also be posting this a Paper Issues.  Their "Current Issue" is all about using instagram photos (which I love)!

Supplies:

Echo Park :: Flower Garden 12x12 Sweet Girl

American Crafts :: Dear Lizzy 12x12 Lucky Charm Paper :: Lucky Coin

American Crafts :: Dear Lizzy 12x12 Lucky Charm Paper :: This and That

American Crafts :: Amy Tangerine Yes, Please :: Capture Embroidery Kit
American Crafts :; Amy Tangerine Yes, Please :: Create Cardstock Shapes

Studio Calico :: Chevron Snippets Wood Veneer
A Flair For Buttons :: Lovely Words Flair

Heidi Swapp :: Clear Pop :: Clear Mint Alpha (love these)!
Tape Works Green Chevron Washi Tape (got this in the Paper Issues "Thrift Shop" embellishment kit)
Elle’s Studio Serindipity Lil Snippets Labels 
Scrapbook Circle exclusive tags

:: about a girl ::

You may have heard about the awesome challenge blog About a Boy, well guess what?? There is a sister site out there called....you guess it...About a Girl!  You can bet that I will be participating in their challenges! They are currently taking applications for the first Design Team. Be sure to stop by and check them out, become a follower, even if you aren't interested in the DT call!

Coming soon : Project Life Update and a new challenge....and there just MIGHT be a give away!

Scrap Your Story :: top of the world tonight

It's Friday!  That means, pizza and wine for supper (at least for us)...but before that, a new challenge at Scrap Your Story Challenge blog!

This week is our "theme" week -- and April's theme is SPRING! The title of this layout is "Top of the World Tonight", which is my daughter's favorite Cheap Trick song! She's been requesting it and singing it since she could talk! On the lovely spring day that I snapped these photos, she was climbing on top of the rocks in our garden and saying, "See, Mommy, I'm on top of the world tonight!"

These photos were taken during our spring break last year - 2012 (This year during spring break, we were sledding and shoveling snow -- that's Iowa for you)! But last year, it really felt like spring. 

I will admit that I had already started with these background papers for a different layout -- then decided I didn't like it -- but I liked the papers. So, now a month later, I grabbed them again and got busy. First I took the PinkPaislee patterned paper and cut a hole out of the middle.  Then I decided that it was a bit too bright, so I spread Gesso over all of it. Then I added the blue paper in the middle -- it has a little bit of pink in it and I loved the two papers together! I roughed up the inside of the square -- quite a bit -- and sewed it in place.

I've been into vellum lately! I used an Elise Blaha Cripe stamp "get excited" and stamped with yellow ink, in a diagonal, all across the vellum. That was the mat for my highlighted photo. But you really couldn't see what it said, so I also added it to the tab of the hidden journaling -- and I embossed it.

I found this American Crafts flair in my stash, and it was perfect for that rock'n roll sorta aspect of the layout - as an added bonus, it's the right colors.  ;-) The yellow letters are Amy Tangerine letters that I inked with a yellow stamp pad. 

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the "Hello" tab (from 8 tabs by Lori Whitlock). I put some clear embossing powder inside the word hello to highlight it a bit more.

I was going for some layers...

Hope you play along with us this week! This is a fun challenge that goes through Thursday, April 11th 11:59 PM (central).

I also linked this one up to Paper Issues!  Their "Current Issue" is Up in the Clouds!   You have until Saturday, April 6th to link up with them!

AND, if that wasn't enough, I am also taking a "Lots of Layers" class over at My Scraps and More (with the great Audrey Yeager). We were working on peek a book layers.  My peek a boo involves the cut out background, vellum, "hello" cut out....you get the idea!