Mother's Love

I'm late blogging this week's Simple Sketches page.  I apologize, but I have a good excuse.   First my son was sick with a stomach bug and he very generously shared it with my husband and I.  It wasn't pretty.  I'll just leave it at that.  I'm excited to finally share this page though.  I really love how it turned out.  I used the November Mixed Media kit from Frosted Designs.  I also used some Thickers, Glimmer Mists, molding paste and plenty of ink. 

Stocking Hanger

This weekend we are decorating for Christmas and while thinking about it earlier in the week I realised we don't really have a good way to hang stockings.  I looked at them in stores and online, but didn't really want to spend $20 on them.  So I hit up Google Images and figured I could probably make one myself.  We had some scrap 2x4s in the garage and I had some Martha Stewart craft paint so I set to work making us a stocking hanger.  I used some really old Scenic Route paper that I've had lying around for quite awhile as well as some Thickers and Distress ink.  I attached it all using Mod Podge.  Finally today at the store I bought some 3M hooks on clearance.  Total price for this project was $4 and I love how it turned out. 

All You Need is Love

For this week's Simple Sketches sketch I decided to break away from just doing a scrapbook page.  I offered to make a good friend of mine something to hang on her bedroom wall.  She's one of my favorite people ever so I was really excited make something awesome for her.  I used a 12x12 piece of wood that I had lying around at home for this.  I misted the wood with Glimmer Mist and then used it like a canvas.  I also used the October Mixed Media Kit from Frosted Designs.  It was a lot of fun to get and I had a great time working with it.  On top of the kit I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink, more Glimmer Mist and molding paste.

Garden of the Gods

Another great sketch from Simple Sketches this week! I had fun scrapbooking some pre-Kirk photos. This was from a friends vacation back in 2011. We had a great time visiting the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.  It's such a beautiful place to visit. I used Basic Grey papers, Tim Holtz Distress inks, molding paste, and Maya Mist. 

Sweet Baby Mine

This week at Simple Sketches we've got another great sketch for you!  I created this page using some more or Kirk's newborn photos.  I'll be done scrapping them soon.  Then I'll finally be able to get to work scrapping some of his 6 month photos and 1 year photos and 18 month photos too.  Plus all the normal candid photos that we take on a daily basis.  By the time I'm done with those I'll probably have the photos of his high school graduation to work on!  I guess no one said being a mom left you with a lot of time to have hobbies!  I used a Basic Grey collection, but I can't for the life of me remember the name of it.  I also used a healthy dose of glimmer mist and ink. 

1st Hike

This week at Simple Sketches we've got another great sketch for you.  This week I made a page with photos from our first hike.  I used Basic Grey's Out of Print Line as well as distress ink, Glimmer Mist and a Tim Holtz mask. 

My Sweet Boy

Once again this week I couldn't help myself when I saw the sketch for Simple Sketches.  It wasn't my week, but I loved this sketch so much that I got right to work on a page anyway.  These are a few of Kirk's newborn photos.  I can't believe that he's already 20 months old.  In my head he is still that sweet and squishy newborn baby.  I use Echo Park's This and That paper line for this page.  I just love that line.  Amazingly I didn't use any ink or mist on this page.  I just kept it clean and simple.  Crazy, huh?! 

Deer X-ing

Head over to Simple Sketches this week to check out the awesome new sketch available.  I was really excited when I saw this sketch.  I used a few photos of a deer that we saw while we were hiking last month.  One went right by us, but the other one stopped to check out.  It was a pretty cool experience and Kirk was totally floored.  I used Glimmer mist, thickers and some scraps for this page.

 

1 Month

Check out this week's sketch over at Simple Sketches!  This wasn't even my week to create a page for this sketch!  I just really loved it and it got me scrapping so I went ahead and created a page anyway.  These photos are from Kirk's 1 month photos that I took.  I'm really happy with how the page turned out. 

 

Space, The Final Frontier

For this week over at Simple Sketches we've got another great sketch to share with you!  It is a really fun sketch and great to play around with.  For this sketch I used some Halloween pictures from last year.  Kirk dressed as Captain Kirk.  I know, I know...Could we be any bigger dorks?  The answer?  Probably and it seems like we are getting there....Anyway, I thought Kirk was an adorable little Captain Kirk and he had his stuffed Spock and Enterprise to complete the look. 

For this page I just couldn't find any patterned papers that I liked so I just used Bazill Cardstock and doodles, misted and inked away to make the page.  I'm pretty happy with the results.  I hope you enjoy it and live long and prosper. ;)

This week's sketch:

 

My take on it:

Make A Wish

My niece's birthday was just last week.  I made her this birthday card using Basic Grey scraps.  I got the inspiration off of pinterest for the card and I'm pretty happy with the results. 

Graduation Card

My sister recently graduated from nursing school.  I made her this card to congratulate her for her awesome accomplishment.  For this card I used plain cardstock and misted, inked and stamped till my hearts content.  I used Zing metallic embossing powder, Distress ink and Glimmer Mist. 

Da Budhies!

Today I'm sharing my first sketch as a Creative Team Member of Simple Sketches! I really love this initial sketch.  It is so fun and totally fits my style.  Head on over to Simple Sketches to check it out and share any pages you make with this fun sketch!

This is the sketch for the week:

 

Here's my take on it.  This is from Kirk's 18 month photos that I took.  He loves to look at the birds in our backyard through the deck stairs.  He's such a funny little guy anymore.  I just love the look on his face in these photos.  

 

For this page I used October Afternoon's old Road Trip line.  I also used Tattered Leather Glimmer Mist, my Tim Holtz Distresser and Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.

 

Finally get to share!

I'm REALLY excited to share this project with you.  It is something I dreamed up quite awhile ago and then have spent the last 6 months, on and off (ok more off than on) working on it.  Our new house has a really nice space above fire place that just needed a piece of art.  I hatched the idea to quill some sort of art piece.  My husband has always had an interest in Buddhism and I think images of the Buddha are very beautiful so I came up with the idea to quill the Buddha sitting under a tree during the full moon.  This is when the Buddha reached enlightenment.  I used quilled cardstock and Mod Podge for the tree and the Buddha.  For the background I used Glimmer Mist, October Afternoon Mists, Smooch Spritz in various colors.  For the stars I used Crystal Stickles.  I just used a circle mask to make the moon while misting the background.  I feel like this is art so I went ahead and gave it a name ;)   It's titled "Enlightenment of the Buddha".  I hope you enjoy looking at it. 

Thank you!

I want to take the time to thank you all who took the time to vote in the So You Think You're Crafty audition.  Unfortunately I didn't make it in to season 17, but I still had a lot of fun coming up with my project and am very happy with how it turned out.  With out further ado here is my project.  I altered a composition notebook and a pencil case.  I used the Pink Paislee Indigo Blue line, Tim Holtz black soot distress ink, Zing Pewter embossing powder,  Tim Holtz Stamper's Anonymous stamps, as well as some misc. stamps that I don't know the brand of, and Mod Podge on this project.  I hope you've enjoyed it and thank you again for voting. 

More Exciting News

It's been an exciting couple of weeks around here.  First I was chosen to be on Simple Sketches awesome creative team.  Now I got an awesome opportunity to try out for Season 17 of So You Think You're Crafty.  The theme of the audition is Back to School.  I had a lot of fun with this project and I'm really pleased with the results.  I am so excited about this competition and would really appreciate if you took a moment to go vote for your favorite 5 projects.  I can't tell you which project is mine and I wouldn't want to sway the results, but I can only hope that one of your favorite projects also happens to be my project.  Thanks for taking the time to vote. 

Happy to announce...

I made it on to Simple Sketches Design Team!  I'm so excited for this opportunity and to get to work on some great sketches.  Please stop by Simple Sketches to find some inspiration. 

35 Weeks

This was actually my first attempt for the design team call for Simple Sketches.  While I like the page I was having a hard time with the papers I had chosen for this page and didn't feel the black and white with blue popped enough for a design team call.  Regardless it's still a pretty page and I love the photos in it.  They are from my maternity photo shoot at 35 weeks pregnant.  I used BoBunny papers, Broken China Distress Ink and turquoise Glimmer Mist.  The large flower and the screen I used for masking are from Prima.  The title is made up of Thickers.

Little Bear

There's a new sketch blog in town.  When I saw the design team call I got really excited.  I've finally been able to consistently get back to scrapbooking and I'd been keeping my eye out for a design team to keep me motivated.  I made this page to apply for the Simple Sketches design team

This page is from Kirk's newborn photos.  Can you believe that was 18 months ago?  I sure can't!  It has gone by way too fast. I used Basic Grey's Hipster line for this page.  I also used fair amount of Black Soot Distress Inks.  I used my Cricut Storybook Cartridge to cut out the scalloped circles and the letters.  The wood embellishments are also from the Basic Grey Hipster line. 

Big Help

For the holidays last year my parents got Kirk a toy motorcycle.  When they brought it over and opened it up Kirk had to be right in the middle of things helping to build the toy.  Whenever he sees tools he has to be right there to help.  I chose this paper because it looked like schematics to me and I felt like it fit with the page.  I unfortunately don't remember the brand of paper.  I used Thickers for the title and a Signo pen for the journaling. 

Little Stinker

This is one of my favorite photos of Kirk.  Don't ask my why.  We were just goofing around inside one day when he made this silly face and I happened to catch it on camera.  I think it just really shows his goofy personality even from a young age.

For this page I used Doodlebug Design's Boys Only line.  The buttons are also from that line.  I also used Tim Holtz twine, Thickers, pewter Zing Embossing Powder, Broken China Distress Ink,  Jack Frost Glimmer Mist, a Signo pen for doodling and a Basic Grey flower.  For the circles with the diamond pattern I used a mask and inked through the mask with a piece of paper with a circle cut out of it over the top of the mask.  The two pewter circles are Zing Embossing Powder.  I also covered the Thickers in Zing embossing powder to give them a textured look.

First Movie

A local theater around here has something really cool for new parents.  They offer baby friendly showings of movies.  At the movie they have the sound a bit lower and the lights a bit higher.  Plus everyone there has a baby so if yours fusses or you have to get up and walk the aisles to keep the little one happy no one will give you the stink eye for it.  When I was still on maternity leave Jason, Kirk and I met my friend, Katie, and her son, Brooks (who was also born in January) for the baby friendly showing of the Hunger Games.  It was a lot of fun and Kirk really was so good for the great majority of the movie. 

I can't actually remember what line of papers I used for this, but I used a lot of Black Soot Distress Ink and Thikers for the title. 

Happy Independence Day

I wanted to drop in and wish all of my United States readers a Happy Independence Day.  I hope you all enjoy the day and take a moment to ponder our freedom and the state of our country and what we can do to improve upon all the wonderful freedoms we have.

I'd also like to share a page that I did this past week.  I actually scrapbooked 6 pages in the past week!  Crazy, right?!  I'm only gonna share one today, but the other 5 will be up over the next few weeks.  This page is of Kirk playing on the sing set in my parents' back yard.  I love the look of wonder on his face.  He makes that face so much anymore.  It's amazing to see the world through his eyes and experience the wonder all over again.

I used Echo Park's This & That line for this page along with some Distress Ink and Thickers letters.  I hope you enjoyed looking and have a wonderful and safe holiday.  

Another Wedding Card

In my post last Saturday I mentioned that this month is the month of weddings for us.  Today's wedding is the third and final one of the month.  It also happens to by my cousin's wedding.  I am so happy for him and his bride to be.  They're a great couple and I think they'll have a lifetime of happiness together. 

For this card I used Basic Grey's Picadilly Line and Vintage Photo distress ink along with a lot of distressing.  Hope you have a great day and Congratulations to T.J. and LeAnn!

Anniversary Card

Last week was my parent's 36th Wedding Anniversary.  I only hope that in 36 years Jason and I are still in love as much as we my parents are.  This is the card I made for them using Basic Grey's Picadilly line and Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I hope you enjoy it and have a great day. 

Altered Items

One of my favorite things to do when crafting is to alter stuff.  It's crazy that I really enjoy doing it so much, but rarely seem to actually ever do it.  Here are a few of my favorite altered items from the past.

Altered lunch box/pencil case for my niece.  This was a birthday present for her 7th or 8th birthday.

Altered Journal.

 

 Altered wooden box as a Hanukkah gift for a friend.

Altered file box for important papers here at work.