Encre, papier, ciseaux

Retro Diner

Inspiration: Colour Inkspiration #126

This mini matchbook card was made with the Diner stamp and dies set and the Matchbook Template dies from Art Impressions. I really don't know how I feel about this purchase because I didn't realize how small this set was. Will I ever learn to read the dimensions? I knew the images were designed to to put inside a matchbook scene but I was thinking I could skip those dies and work the images onto a regular card instead. In the end, I decided to get the matchbook dies because they were so inexpensive... and now I see why. I guess I could still try to make a regular card, but it's still going to be a very small one. It's disappointing that it's so small because if it was regular-card sized, I would be totally in love with that little diner set. I love the images from the set with the banquette, jukebox and retro counter.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Diner (Art Impressions); Bouquets de feuilles (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay (Stampin' Up!)
Designer Series Paper: Brights Stack (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Dies: Diner, Matchbook Template (Art Impressions)
Accessories: Stampin' Blends Markers, Brights Enamel Shapes (Stampin' Up!);
Metallic Gold Rich Super FIne Embossing Powder (Wow!);
Diamond Stickles (Ranger)

 

Traveling Anya

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Monday (Let's Go on Vacation) + Tic Tac Toe #171 (Coloring + Yellow + Checks) + The Paper Player #601

I really wanted to pair the Miss Anya All Year stamp set with the Let's Go! collection since it has an image of Anya with her bags and camera, all ready to go and explore. This is arguable one of my favorite stamp set, as the girls are fun to color and are a perfect size to add to a card.

I used my favorite checks pattern for the card background and layered a stitched banner using the car plate pattern. The die cut piece was a little shorter than I wanted, so I used washi tape from the collection to bridge the gap, which also added a design element. I added a messy stitch rub-on to the tape and a few In Color Opal Rounds as well.

Following the sketch, I added a stitched oval on the right side and layered my Anya image over it, popped up with dimensional adhesive. For the sentiment, I pulled out my aqua acrylic sentiment strips and pulled one that says "just for fun." I also added a clear faceted gem over the camera's lens.

I stamped the Anya image again on the seafoam envelope and added a little sentiment strip from the cardstock stickers.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Miss Anya All Year (The Greeting Farm)
Cardstock: Blush Pink (Dress My Craft); Solar White (Neenah)
Patterned Papers, Cardstock Stickers: Let's Go! (Simple Stories)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Pool Party (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables (Lawn Fawn); 
Foundation 4 (Queen & Co); Stitched Shapes (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, 2021-2023 In Color Opal Rounds, Elegant Faceted Gems (Stampin' Up!); 
A2 Seafoam Envelope (Envelopes.com); Markers (Copic); Black Roughly Sewn Rub-Ons (49 & Market)

 

Let's Go!

Inspiration: Paper Issues July 11^th Sketch + Simon Says Stamp Monday (Let's Go on Vacation!)

When I saw the sketch with the blocked pieces, I immediately thought of the Simple Stories page templates. I pulled one out and it became the starting point for this page. I had been chomping at the bits to use the Let's Go! collection from Simple Stories, so I pulled the picture taken at a restaurant where we stopped for lunch on the way to Wasaga Beach a few years ago.

I was planning to make a watercolor wash background and I painted gesso on a piece of white cardstock, but after the gesso was dry and I started auditioning some of the papers over the background, I felt it looked a little too off-white compared to the paper and it was bothering me. I also realized hat we would not be seeing a whole lot of the background once I added the blocks, so I went back to a white cardstock for the background (and will keep the gesso'ed piece for something else at a later time). I replaced the watercolour wash with 49 & Market rub-ons instead, from the Travel Anywhere collection. Those pair with the SImple Stories line very nicely.  

As part of the collection, I purchased the Page Pieces. I looked in there to see what I could use and I pulled the super cute van plus the awesome marquee. I added dimensional adhesive behind both images and started looking at which patterned paper would look cool underneath. I picked the grey map for the marquee and I had picked the pink map for the van, but I realized once I saw the back of the paper that the plates pattern looked much better. I picked my favorite pattern from the line, the lovely plaid, for the other 6" x 4" piece.

I started looking through Thickers to see what I could use for my title. I was curious to see if the pink Color Vibe letters I had previously purchased could work with this line. Those letters are something I picked up online when my local store did a clearance sale and I thought soft pink letters would be useful since it's a colour that comes back in a lot of paper lines, but when I got my order, I realized that this is more of a soft peach/nude colour. I was glad that it matched the lighter pink from this line, but I was concerned the letters were getting lost in the plaid design, so I used a grey pen and added doodling around the stickers. For the first words, I knew I had a pink alphabet from Queen & Co, which worked perfectly.

In the sketch, the journaling block is towards the bottom, but I had more room to fill at the top of my block, so I used the tag die-cut from the Page PIeces pack and moved it to the top block, handwriting my journaling on it with a pink gel pen. I also found a chipboard tag in the decorative brads pack, and added it at the bottom of the first one, to frame the title.

I created the block at the bottom using half a tag from the cut-apart page, layering a rub-on and two stickers from the sticker book. I stamped my date on the tag and I added a few puffy stickers. I added a few stickers and die-cuts to the page to fill in a few spots. I put enamel dots on the van and the marquee, added art pebbles to the van's headlights, a enamel heart to the van sign, and I glued pink Doo Dadz all aorund the marquee where the white lights were. That really brought the marquee to life with the sparkle it added.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Date Stamp Office (Supplies)
Cardstock: Textured White (American Crafts)
Patterned Papers, Foam Stickers, Sticker Book, Decorative Brads, Page Pieces,
Enamel Dots, Cardstock Stickers, Puffy Stickers: Let's Go! (Simple Stories)
Ink: Bermuda Bay (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Vintage Artistry Travel Anywhere Rub-On Transfers (49 & Market);
Blush Foam Alpha Stickers (Simple Stories); Princess Sparkle Doo Dadz (Buttons Galore & More);
Glossy Accents (Ranger); Mini Hearts - Cotton Candy Glossies (Pure & Simple);
Pink Little Letters (Queen & Co)

 

From Our House to Yours

Inspiration: TGIF #377 (Christmas in July)

I received a nice birthday card from Suzanne last year that featured a double accordion style and it inspired me to try making one myself, using the Holly Days collection from Simple Stories. I took measurements off of hers to figure how the pieces I needed.

For the central panel, I stamped a larger sentiment in VersaMark and embossed it with Real Red glitter embossing powder. I then ran the cardstock through the Big Shot using the Softly Falling embossing folder. I tore white glimmer paper for snow at the bottom, and I added my two house images on each side of the sentiment. I filled the space at the top with snowflake stickers, some glued flat and some popped up on mini Stampin' Dimensionals. I also added a heart underneath the sentiment. 

I used snowflake patterned paper for the central block and added a little sentiment sticker in the center, and I left the right panel blank for a space to write the message on. I added a sticker tab at the right of it, topped with a decorative brad. That is definitely a fun type of cards to make to showcase a few different patterned papers, and it's neither long or complicated to put together. 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Moments lumineux (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Real Red, Spruce Shadow, Whisper White, White Glimmer Paper (Stampin' Up!);
Cotton Candy (Bazzill)
Patterned Papers, Cardstock Stickers, Decorative Brads: Holly Days (Simple Stories)
Ink: VersaMark
Embossing Folder: Softly Falling (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Real Red Glitter Embossing Powder (Stampin' Up!);
A2 Jupiter Metallic Envelope (Envelopes.com); Arctic Breeze Pearls (Studio Katia); Diamond Stickles (Ranger)

 

Frozen Ever After

Inspiration: Paper Issues July 6 Sketch 

I thought this sketch could work well to scrapbook our picture taken at the Frozen Ever After ride. We almost never received this picture, as it had not originally saved to our account and we had to contact Disney and provide them the exact day and time we were at the ride, with a description of what our party looked like. Thankfully, they located it in their archives and were able to send it to us. My nieces were big fans of that movie and this was one of the rides we definitely wanted to capture a memory of. 

As you can see, Disney adds this Frozen overlay to the picture, which is entirely turquoise and therefore dictates the colour scheme. I had already done a monochromatic turquoise page in another album when I recorded an Olaf costume my brother-in-law's cousin had done by hand. I didn't want to go down that road again so I started shopping my stash and I got excited when I spotted the Sparkle City collection from American Crafts (2018). The colours were a nice match and I thought I could make it work if I avoided the city-themed papers. 

I used purple textured cardstock for the page base and I layered orchid dotted paper on the right, teal geographic paper on the right and a strip of paper with light strings on it (some of the lights having holographic foil on them). This detail is particularly nice because in the queue for the ride, we go through the Arendelle village and there are strings of lights hanging above our head, so I feel like that makes for a nice callback.

The picture mat is actually the packaging of the sticker pack! I liked the colours and patterns so I cut the marketing strip off and placed it under the picture on my page. I found a border punched out of holographic paper that was leftover from a previous project, so I slipped it at the top of the picture.

I used the matching holographic Thickers to create the first word of the title and include the date at the bottom of the page. I've been doing that more recently instead of stamping a small date on the page and I'm liking the look that it gives, plus the fact that I get to use the number stickers, which otherwise would tend to sit.

The Sparkle City collection included a vellum page, that is entirely filled with marquee. It was not fitting my page really well, but as I was about to put it away, I noticed that one of the marquee had the phrase "Never Give Up" and I realized that if I cut the N at the beginning of the word, I would have "ever" ready to use for my title! The word "after" was added with the block letters from the sticker pack.

I had Frozen-themed stickers from American Crafts that I pulled out and added to my page. I had Olaf sit on top of my date, I added the sisters' shadow at the top of my journaling block, each sister in the bottom corners of my picture mat, and an Olaf silhouette on top of the title. I also sprinkled snowflakes (stickers and sequins) around the page. 

The camera was fussy cut from patterned paper and added at an angle to frame the journaling. I had a leftover half-ticket in a purplish blue colour that suited the layout, so I slipped that underneath the picture. I used a branding strip as a teal border, cutting the ends with pinking decorative scissors. At the last minute, I remembered to look at the matching chipboard and I found this neat arrow with holographic lights on it, and I added it underneath the title, pointing towards the picture. That little addition really made the page feel completed. 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Wisteria Wonder Textured (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Stickers: Sparkle City, Chipboard (Shimelle for American Crafts)
Embellishments: Harmony Thickers, Disney Frozen Stickers (American Crafts); 
Stampin' Dimensionals, Sequins, Rhinestone Stickers, Iridescent Trim,
Mini Stapler (Stampin' Up!)

Holly Days Ornaments

Inspiration: Little Red Wagon #661 (Christmas in July)

This card was inspired by the Tuesday Morning sketch and I kept working with the Holly Days collection from Simple Stories. I inked up the Decorated with Happiness stamp set (currently sold in Stampin' Up!'s Holidays minicatalogue) and used the matching dies to cut the images out. I hesitated on getting this set - I've always liked the two-step doodled images sets, but I've found it hard to use them in the past. Here, the matching dies are what made me reconsider the purchase. I also really like the fun fonts of the sentiments and I'm always looking to add variety to the sentiments I used, so I gave this a try, and so far, I'm liking how easy it is to use the elements found in the bundle.

Because I wanted a long, one-line sentiment, I picked from Brightest Glow, an all-sentiment set. I embossed the words with Wild Wilderness embossing glaze on pink cardstock, which I matted with plaid paper. I added decorative brads on each side.

I die-cut the ornament toppers from silver foil sheets and the little stars from silver glitter paper. I also added a little cut-apart star that was lying on my desk, but fit the papers quite well. On the envelope, I used ornament cardstock stickers with a little sentiment strip to match the card.

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Moments lumineux, Fêtes branchées (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Real Red, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!); Cotton Candy (Bazzill);
Metallic Krafstock (Tim Holtz for idea-ology); Silver Glitter Paper (Unknown)
Patterned Papers, Decorative Brads, Cardstock Stickers: Holly Days (Simple Stories)
Ink: Old Olive, Shaded Spruce, Real Red, Blushing Bride, Pool Party, VersaMark (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Decorated Pine (Stampin' Up!); Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Wild Wilderness Embossing Glaze (Ranger); Mini Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!);
A2 Jupiter Metallic Envelope (Envelopes.com)

 

Silver Reindeer

Inspiration: November 2017 Card Maps sketch + Little Red Wagon #611 (Christmas in July)

Since I was done with the current Card Maps sketches, I went looking at past card sketches for inspiration. I found one with a leaping reindeer on it and it reminded me of some pretty cool silver foam stickers I found at the dollar store last year. I used the floral pattern for the center part of the sketch and the Festive Foils Specialty DSP (sold in current Stampin' Up! Holidays minicatalogue) for the background. The sketch had a shape for the sentiment strip that looked a lot like a die I have in a Project Life Nesting Dies set, so I stamped the Happy Holidays stamp in Shaded Spruce ink on Old Olive cardstock and cut it out with the die.

Because the sticker set had two reindeers and I very much loved the first card, I decided to make a duplicate. I realized when I added the reindeer to the card that the second one is slightly smaller, so I did three snowflakes on this card for balance. There's something very elegant about the end result. It's hard to think that those stickers were only a buck.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Moments lumineux (Stampin' Up!) 
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Festive Foils (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Holly Days (Simple Stories)
Dies: Project Life Nesting Dies (American Crafts); Dotted Rectangle Stackables (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!);
Diamond Say It in Crystals (Prima Marketing); A2 Jupiter Metallic Envelopes (Envelopes.com)

 

Islands of Adventure

Inspiration: Lasting Memory Layout challenge #607 - Old and New

(This is my first time using the Color Study collection from Vicki Boutin, which is relatively new as it came out last year. The sparkly Thickers are really old and so are the Echo Park decorative brads and the washi tapes.)

This will be the first page of our day at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. I was going through my paper collections to find something that would work and I found Vicki Boutin's mixed media paper pad. I really liked the colorful background with the stars, so I went looking for patterned papers to match and I found the few sheets from the Color Study collection that I have. I matted the picture with the black paper and added a few torn edges with the pink and purple one. I ran my black ink pad along the edges to make them stand out.

For the title, I wondered if I had the word "adventure" anywhere in my Thickers or chipboard packs, and I realized I might in the Into the Wild collection. Sure enough, the foam stickers pack include the word adventure in a colorful rainbow that matched the papers well enough to go. The word Islands was created with the Fox Thickers from Dear Lizzy and the word "of" with Little Letters stickers from Queen & Co.

I have the cut-apart sheet, so I used one of the borders at the bottom of the page, one of the banners at the top (with washi tape layered underneath) and two of the tags underneath the picture. I kept the "This day was fabulous" tag intact and I cut the viewmaster wheel out of the other tag to use as a die-cut image.

I decided to add my date with the same gold Thickers to make it stand out and fill in the space. And then I went around the page embellishing with gems, enamel dots, brads and stickers. I'm trying to include the park map on my cover pages, but it wouldn't have worked with the layout I was aiming for here, so I created a pocket with the yellow star patterned paper on the back of the page and I slid our printed tickets and the map in there.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Patterned Papers: Color Study (Vicki Boutin for American Crafts)
Cardstock: Ready-to-Use Mixed Media Paper (Vicki Boutin for American Crafts)
Accessories: Into the Wild Foam Stickers (Simple Stories);
Fox Thickers (Dear Lizzy for American Crafts); Yellow Little Letters Stickers (Queen & Co);
Star Stickers (Maildor); Halloween Mix Matte Enamels (Bella Blvd.);
Enamel Dots (Your Next Stamps); All Occasion Enamel Dots (Pink & Main);
Cool Summer Decorative Brads (Carta Bella); Botanical Enamel Dots (Waffle Flower);
Love Filled Gems (Fun Stampers Journey)

 

Frosty Holly Days

Inspiration: July 2022 Card Maps Sketch + Little Red Wagon #661 (Christmas in July)

And this is the last sketch of the July 2022 Card Maps! I used up all ten. I kept this sketch to the end because I was originally not really inspired by it. Four blocks with a flower... I could have done a poinsettia, but I was not feeling it all that much. But I was looking at what I had left when it came to larger stickers on my cardstock sticker sheet and the chipboard stickers and I saw the snowman, the long sentiment strip and the row of Christmas lights and I realized than by pairing those three elements, I sort of had the same composition as the square card. 

The other thing that made me happier with the sketch was using the zig zag square dies to cut out the patterned papers. It immediately made the card look less blocky. I added a few more embellishments - chipboard snowflakes, holly berry and tiny hearts - and I added Glossy Accents to the lights and Diamond Stickles to the images.

I used leftover stickers on the envelope and the inside of the card. Ironically, this might be one of my favorite cards of the series, even though it was made with the last mostly to feel like I had finished what I had started. Goes to show you never know when inspiration might strike.

 

 

 

Supplies
Note Card and Envelope: Docrafts (Papermania)
Patterned Papers, Chipboard Stickers, Cardstock Stickers, Sticker Book: Holly Days (Simple Stories)
Dies: Zig Zag Square Stackables (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Diamond Stickles, Glossy Accents (Ranger); 
Green Meadows Enamel Dots (Altenew); Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

 

Santa's Mailbox

Inspiration: July 2022 Card Maps Sketch

This is arguable the easiest and fastest card I've made with the Holly Days collection from Simple Stories so far. The sketch it is based on is pretty straightforward, so I picked the Santa and the mailbox images from the chipboard stickers as well as the chipboard fa la la la la as my sentiment. I die-cut a circle out of striped paper with the Cross Stitched Circle Stackables dies and wrapped Garden Green baker's twine around the background paper, die-cut out of the floral pattern with a stitched rectangle die.

I added three snowflake puffy stickers, topped them with red rhinestones and I added Star Dust Stickles to the mailbox and letters, and Snowfall Accents Puff Paint from Stampin' Up! to the Santa outfit fur trim. This is my first try using this stuff and I found it a little runny! I used to work with Liquid Applique, but I had to throw my last tube in the trash because it kept getting yellower with passing time and actually looked brown the last time I pulled it out. This one looks like it is more of a true white, which I like because it will not look yellowish against with white-based patterned papers. 

I used a Jupiter metallic envelope and added a cute Santa sticker from the sticker book on it.

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Shaded Spruce (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Puffy Sticker, Sticker Book, Chipboard Stickers: Holly Days (Simple Stories)
Dies: Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables, Cross Stitched Circle Stackables (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Snowfall Accents Puff Paint, Stampin' Dimensionals, Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels,
Garden Green/White Baker's Twine (Stampin' Up!); A2 Jupiter Metallic Envelope (Envelopes.com);
Star Dust Stickles (Ranger); Green Meadows Enamel Dots (Altenew)

 

Christmas Anya

Inspiration: July 2022 Card Maps Sketch + Little Red Wagon #661 (Christmas)

This is my most recent card made with the Card Maps sketches and Holly Days collection from Simple Stories. I replaced the flowers from the sketch with the Anya image, colored with Copic markers. I used my papers scraps to create two small banners, punched with the Banners Pick a Punch and topped with enamel dots.

I die-cut a "Merry Christmas" sentiment out of dark green glitter paper, overlaid on Pearlescent Vellum, and I popped it on the card with micro pop-dot adhesives from Forever in Time.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Miss Anya All Year (The Greeting Farm)
Cardstock: Solar White (Neenah); Cotton Candy (Bazzill); Pearlescent Vellum (Lawn Fawn)
Patterned Papers, Enamel Dots, Sticker Book: Holly Days (Simple Stories)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Dies: Joyeux Noël / Bonne Année (Crealies); Dotted Rectangle Stackables (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Banners Pick a Punch (Stampin' Up!); Markers (Copic);
A2 Seafoam Metallic Envelope (Envelopes.com); Mini Pop-Dot Adhesives (Forever in Time)

 

Christmas Gifts

Inspiration: July 2022 Card Maps Sketch

I wanted to use chipboard pieces on this card, so I picked the three gifts and the sketch with three circles. I die-cut circles out of patterned paper using the Cross Stitched Circle Stackables dies and placed them over a piece of striped paper. I slipped one of the Wonderful Snowflakes die-cuts underneath the left circles.

I stamped my sentiment on Pool Party cardstock, embossed it with Rustic Wilderness Distress Embossing Glaze and die-cut it out with the Everyday Sentiment Banners dies. I wrapped metallic red and white baker's twine underneath the sentiment strip and I added a few stickers from the sticker book underneath the gifts and to frame the sentiment. I added enamel dots as well.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Joyeux moments (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Shaded Spruce, Pool Party (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Chipboard Stickers, Enamel Dots, Sticker Book: Holly Days (Simple Stories)
Ink: VersaMark
Dies: Cross Stitched Circle Stackables, Everyday Sentiment Banners (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Rustic Wilderness Distress Embossing Glaze (Ranger);
Metallic Red and White Baker's Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals, Wonderful Snowflakes (Stampin' Up!);
Mini Slimline Envelope (Envelopes.com); Twinkle Stickles (Ranger)

 

Stack of Gifts

Inspiration: July 2022 Card Maps Sketch

Here is one more card made with the Holly Days collection from Simple Stories and inspired by the July Card Maps sketches. The girl holding gift image was fussy cut from a cut-apart image and popped up on dimensional adhesive. The rectangle behind her was die-cut out of pearlescent vellum (my favorite!) and embossed with the Falling Petals embossing folder. To mimic the scalloped corner from the sketch, I punched a square out of red velvet paper and use a scalloped border at an angle on it. I added a decorative brad on it. I created falling snow using half-pearls from the very old Pretties kit.

To create the sentiment, I die-cut a piece of white cardstock using the Fancy Folded Banners dies from Lawn Fawn and I added the fa la la la la sticker from the Sticker Book over it (which I cut on white cardstock and fussy cut first to give it stability). I also added a mini tag with a heart opening I had die-cut out of a little paper scrap on one of the gifts. I added stickers to a metallic lagoon envelope to finish the set.

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Cotton Candy (Bazzill); Whisper White, Red Velvet Sheets (Stampin' Up!);
Pearlescent Vellum (Lawn Fawn)
Patterned Papers, Sticker Book, Cardstock Stickers, Decorative Brads: Holly Days (Simple Stories)
 Dies: Outside In Stitched Rectangles Stackables, Dotted Rectangles Stackables,
Fancy Folded Banners, Stitched Scalloped Borders (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Falling Petals Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Pretties Kit (Stampin' Up!);
A2 Metallic Lagoon Envelope (Envelopes.com)

 

The Cube

Inspiration: Paper Issues Sketch - July 4

When I went through Vicki Boutin's Ready-to-use mixed media paper pad, I tore this page and put it aside. In the pad, the stripes are horizontal, but I realized when I turned the page 90 degrees that it looked just like the July 4 sketch and I was immediately inspired to explore that idea.

I sort of did the monochromatic sections, except for the title, where I paired three colours from the page to make sure the words were showing up well. I did do tone-on-tone stitching on all of the sections. I placed my title over the yellow stitching and I glued the first word a little crooked so it wouldn't look so plain. I added puffy stickers in yellow at the top and bottom of the sentiment to keep with the monochromatic embellishing.

I typed my journaling in Word, using the Elegant Typewriter font. I printed it on a scrap of pink cardstock, cut it as strips and added it the page. I added sparkly enamel dots and a couple of puffy stickers in matching colours. I got lucky and had a drink image, which fits with the story. (The story behind this cube that my niece is holding is that I ordered a cocktail during one of our meals and the drink had a light-up cube in it to make the drink change colours. The kids were absolutely enthralled by it and a little bit of fighting ensued once we fished it out of the glass to see who could play with it. The youngest, who was about to turn two at the time, kept the thing in her hand for a big chunk of the Disney trip. That's kids for you - they'll be totally smitten with the dollar gadget!)

I placed the picture in the fourth section, and I like that the blue of my niece's dress fits with the blue section theme. I matted the picture with a blue paper from the Color Study collection from Vicki Boutin. I went through my blue embellishment drawer and I found blue tickets that I tucked in under the picture. I also found a blue chipboard banner that I added to the picture's corner. I also found blue rub-ons in 49 and Market's Sky & Navy rub-on transfers pack. I added blue and teal sequin rub-ons around the page, the word Reminisce on the picture, the word Simplicity on the chipboard banner and the words "greatest treasure" above the picture. (That was a lucky find!) 

The teal section is very narrow and didn't need a lot of embellishing, but I did get the idea of finding a scrap of matching paper and punching little Mickey heads to glue on the page. I have this punch that does six sizes at once, and the pattern I picked really blends into the background, so I like that it adds hidden Mickeys to the page. At the bottom of the stitching, I added an aqua tag, on which I stamped the date in Bermuda Bay ink and I added a little puffy sticker in matching color to the right.

It feels like a lot of the work was done for me since I used a pre-done mixed media page, but I really do enjoy the end result. I like that this will add variety to the final Disney album as well.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Date Stamp (Office Supplies)
Ink: Bermuda Bay (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Pink (Unknown)
Ready-to-Use Mixed Media Paper Pad: Vicki Boutin (American Crafts)
Patterned Papers: Color Study (Vicki Boutin for American Crafts); Teal (Unknown)
Alphabet Stickers: Pink Little Letters (Queen & Co); Oh, What Fun! Puffy Alphabet (Pinkfresh);
Midnight Thickers (American Crafts)
Accessories: Disney Mickey Icons Punch (EK Success); Here and Now (Dear Lizzy for American Crafts);
Dive Into Summer Puffy Stickers (Echo Park); Aqua Label Stickers (Elle's Studio); 
Vintage Artistry Sky & Navy Rub-On Transfers (49 and Market); Gumdrops (Your Next Stamp);
Bell Pepper Trinkets Puffy Stickers (Bella Blvd.)
Font: Elegant Typewriter

 

Animal Kingdom

Inspiration: Scrapbook Generation Free Sketch #2 + Lasting Memory Layout challenge #606 (Big and Small Elements)

I kept going with the Into the Wild collection from Simple Stories and made my intro page for the day we spent at Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World. This time, I remembered to make a pocket on the layout so that I could keep the map from that day in it! I had done that in my album from 2005 and I find it fun to pull the old map back and see how the parks have evolved since then. I forgot to make a pocket for my Magical Kingdom page, so I will probably just slip the map on the back of that page, in the pocket protector. Here, I used foam strips on both sides of the picture and on the bottom edge so the picture is off the cardstock and open at the top, and I was able to slip the guidemap in. Its colors also fit very nicely with the collection, so that's a win as well.

I made sure to pick green cardstock for the page base, as it seemed an obvious pick. I based my design on a free sketch from Scrapbook Generation that had four 4" x 4" squares on it. I realized when I measured the map that it would not fit in such a small square, so I simple made the two left blocks 4" x 6" instead. That had the added bonus of preserving my Tree of Life picture, as it was already cropped pretty tightly in the picture. I did crop the other two shots of the tree - one at day and one at night - to 2¼" x 2¼" and added them to patterned paper, as per the original sketch. I moved the pictures a bit higher on my design so as not to hide the words on the bottom square. I found this neat wood 4" x 4" cut-apart with the words Wild One in aqua and decided to use this on the layout. I then realized I had the same words, slightly larger, in the foam stickers and decided to overlay the words to make it a dimensional element.

I then went on to pick embellishment. I got to reuse that Jungle Safari chipboard piece that had not made it on my Kilimanjaro Safari layout, and I slipped a flower underneath. I wrapped twine around the photo mats and added a sentiment strip on one and a foam sticker on the other. The lion head came from the Bits & Pieces and is just adorable. At the bottom, I used the little animal banners sticker, then popped the chipboard explorer hat on foam adhesive, as well as the chipboard compass and the ephemera boots. I found those cute little chipboard pawprints and put them in the corner of the alligator paper. Then, I picked the Explore tag and stamped Animal Kingdom on it with a small wood-mount alphabet I found in the bins near the cash register at Michaels years ago. I added a little iguana sticker at the top (he reminds me of Pascal from Tangled!) and a leaf at the bottom. I went back to the animal-print gems from the Diamond Say It in Crystal pack to accent the strips at the top of the page.

This collection is working out very nicely for my Animal Kingdom pictures.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Alphabet (Studio G); Date Stamp (Office Supplies)
Cardstock: Lucky Limeade Textured (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Foam Stickers, Cardstock Stickers, Chipboard Stickers: Into the Wild (Simple Stories)
Ink: Mossy Meadow (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Twine (Recollections); Stampin' Dimensionals, Foam Adhesive Strips (Stampin' Up!);
Diamond Say It in Crystals (Prima Marketing)

 

My Little Monkey

Inspiration: Paper Issues - July 2 sketch

I was happy to see that Paper Issues is hosting a 31 days of sketches in July. Sketches are always a great way to spark inspiration and stretch my design muscle. I was liking the overlapping papers sketch, as I saw it as a great way to use smaller scraps on a full 12" x 12" page. I went to my Disney pictures to see what could work as a stand-alone on a page and when I saw the picture of my niece hanging upside down while we were waiting in line for a ride, I knew I could do something with the Into the Wild collection using the monkey images.

When I started working with this new collection a couple of weeks ago, I pulled out some monochromatic Designer Series Paper from Stampin' Up! in matching shades and kept those close so I could stretch the collection further. I decided to use those here rather than the papers from the collection since I knew we would only see corners peeking out from underneath the picture. Before I glued my papers down, I smooshed my Old Olive ink pad on a piece of acetate, spritzed it with water and I smooshed the acetate on my textured cardstock to create texture.

I found a little monkey in the chipboard pack and the title "My Little Monkey" in the foam stickers, which made my job easier to begin with. I also found a "just hangin'" die-cut in the Journaling Bits pack, which I superposed on another die-cut to give it more visual weight and add the leaf pattern. I snuck two branch die-cuts from the Bits & Bobs pack in the corners. I added flower stickers from the cardstock and foam packs, as wild as a little sentiment strip and paw print. I embellished with pearls, gems and enamel dots in matching colours. And I doodled borders around the papers.

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Old Olive Textured (Stampin' Up!)
Designer Series Vellum: Vellum Layering Designs (Stampin' Up!)
Designer Series Paper: Brights Stack, Neutrals Stack (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Old Olive (Stampin' Up!)
Foam Stickers, Cardstock Stickers, Bits & Pieces, Journaling Bits: Into the Wild (Simple Stories)
Accessories: Brown Pen (PaperMate); Stampin' Dimensionals, Distressing Tool,
Treasured Tags Pick a Punch (Stampin' Up!); Café au Lait, Rose Pink and Apricot Glacé Pearls (Studio Katia); 
Bundle of Joy Enamel Dots (Echo Park); Diamond Say It in Crystals (Prima Marketing)

 

Let's Get Beachy

Inspiration: Little Red Wagon #660 (Sea Creature - see the sea serpent my niece built out of sand with her father)

I was really hoping to use the Simple Vintage Vintage Seas collection in my scrapbook, and I found some beach pictures from our trip to Wasaga Beach that I had not scrapbooked yet.

I drew inspiration from a September 2020 Page Maps sketch, with a 4" x 6" picture at the top and two smaller pictures at the bottom. I didn't make my bottom pictures quite as small, though, as I was inspired to use one of the chipboard frames and I cut the pictures to fit the apertures. I love those beautiful chipboard frames - I feel like half of the designing job is already done when they are added to a page. The foam stickers, which are recent addition to the Simple Stories lineup of products, seem to have been well-received as it is now included in most collections, and those also speed up the designing job quite significantly. I will usually create my own title when I want to tell a very specific story about the event showcased, but when it's something generic, I don't mind going for the stickers, even if that means having an English title in my album.

Another thing the company is doing more regularly is a cut-apart page of various sizes, rather than just the standard pocket sizes. I also love those, which I find easier to use on traditional layouts. Here, I picked the beautiful library pocket, I rounded the top corners and I used my stamp to add numbers and info on the top portion. I used my handwriting to add journaling below, and I picked stickers from the sticker book to dress up the bottom. I added a tab from the sticker book at the top and two hearts from the foam stickers. 

On the left side of the patterned paper, I tied a piece of Sahara Sand/Night of Navy baker's twine. I've been using this specific twine on a lot of projects over the year. I like the fact that it's a little thicker and also it not being white makes it blend better on a lot of projects. I found a wheel in the ephemera pack and I slipped it over the twine bow for added detailing.

I picked the compass image and placed it where the circle was on the sketch, under my other elements rather than over so I wouldn't hide the text. I added the foam word "Beachy" and I was planning to cut apart the "Let's Get Beachy" stickers from the cardstock sticker sheet to add the first two words, but the foam stickers are not the same white as the cardstock stickers and having them both side by side made the difference very obvious and jarring, so I went back to the sticker book and round the words I was looking for on a smaller sentiment strip, which I snipped and added to my red banner.

To finish embellishing, I added a few decorative brads and enamel dots around the page, as well as the paddles sticker and the metal book plate from the foam stickers.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Eccentric (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous); Library Love (Inky Antics);
Date Stamp (Office Supplies)
Patterned Papers, Foam Stickers, Sticker Book, Cardstock Stickers, Enamel Dots,
Decorative Brads, Nautical Bits, Chipboard Frames: Simple Vintage Vintage Seas (Simple Stories)
Ink: Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Sahara Sand/Night of Navy Baker's Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Perfect Layers (Stampin' Up!); Craft Blade (Fiskars); Ink Joy Gel Pen 0.7 (Paper Mate);
Corner Chomper (We R Memory Makers)