Minions

I had a fun time creating this page along with the April Progressive Digi-Scrap Challenge on Splitcoaststampers website.  You can view the challenge here:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/digital-scrapbooking-tuesdays-f253/apr-2015-progressive-task-1-04-07-2015-a-t598258.html

Every week, on Tuesday, new tasks are added, so that after 4 weeks... you have a completed scrapbook page.

I chose to create a page around the Easter eggs I dyed.  They turned out so cute! lol!

Thanks for looking!

Background - Not Quite Navy

Stamp Brush Set - CelesteKnight (Watercolor overlay - Midnight Muse and Daffodil Delight); Stampin' Up (Autumn Elements - swirls in Whisper White; Blossoms Abound - swirls in Basic Black; Splatter in Daffodil Delight and Not Quite Navy both at reduced opacity; A Split Second - lines in Basic Black)

Punch - Square (filled w/Daffodil Delight DSP and Basic Black DSP); Flag (filled w/Daffodil Delight DSP)

Photo Box - filled with Whisper White (so I could round the corners to match.

Font - Broach and Market (Basic Black)

Woodburn

It's Monday again, and MDS Monday has a new sketch challenge posted.  Jeanna provided this week's sketch.  You may view their blog along with all the lovely pages created by the design team here: http://mdsmonday.blogspot.com/2015/04/mdsm-111-cute-done.html

Well, as I see here I didn't put my title in the correct spot, but I did use the 'Everyday Adventure Project Life digital download throughout this page.  I added tulips from the 'Handpicked for Mom' and the washi tape from the 'Delightful Digital Tape' digital downloads.

One thing I'd like to point out is that I used a Project Life pocket card for the background.  I encompassed the whole background with a photo box and just dragged my card in the box.  It did give me an error saying it may pixelate, but when printed I do not see any pixelation.  The pocket card looked like rows of tulips -- I felt it was perfect for the background! =)

I realize that there are no photos of the beautiful rows of tulip fields on my page -- I'll need to create another page for that, but wanted to showcase us being silly at the festival! We are too cute!

Oh wait!  Here's a lovely photo of the tulip fields for you to see now:

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Background - Everyday Adventure Project Life pocket card

Stamp Brush Set - Everyday Adventure Project Life (word 'LOVE', sayings, flag w/words, camera); Handpicked for Mom - Tulip (colored Old Olive, Tangelo Twist and Summer Sun)

Embellishments - Everyday Adventure Project Life pocket cards; Delightful Digital Tape (recolored Old Olive and Tangelo Twist)

Punch - Square (filled w/Whisper White)

Font - Bobo and Adorable (Basic Black)

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National Civil War Museum

Mike took another trip in 2014 that I had forgotten to scrap.  In May 2014, while he was in Pennsylvania for work, he went to the National Civil War Museum to look at the many artifacts and facts about the Civil War.  

Thanks for taking a peek!

Supplies Used:

Background - Well Worn DSP #11

Punch - Square (filled w/Midnight Muse); Star (filled w/Whisper White)

Stamp Brush Set - Extreme Elements (star - Whisper White)

Font - Batang (Whisper White)

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Caesars Head State Park

Trying to work on our 2014 photobook to get my last few pages complete (at least the ones that I forgot to add.... oops!).  Here is Mike's trip to South Carolina. He and his co-worker hiked within the Caesars Head State Park.  It was very overcast, but they still enjoyed their outing.... especially rescuing a turtle who decided to walk across the road (slowly). =)

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used:

Embellishments - Sweet Sorbet Accessory Pack (Summer Starfruit thread and bow)

Stamp Brush Sets - Inspired by Nature (flower - Summer Sun, Soft Suede and Old Olive; grass - Always Artichoke); Decorative Overlays (Pool Party and Always Artichoke)

Punches - Square (filled w/Soft Suede DSP; Summer Sun and Whisper White)

Font - Teen Scene (Summer Sun and Soft Suede)

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Raven Falls

Playing with another sketch challenge on MDS Monday Blog (MDSM110).  You may view the challenge here:

http://mdsmonday.blogspot.com/2015/04/mdsm-110-tie-it-up-with-bow.html

With this challenge, Yapha wanted us to use papers at angles and to anchor those papers with a tie or bow. Thanks Yapha!

I wasn't too sure of what photo I would use for this, but I found one of my husband when he was in South Carolina hiking in Caesar's Head State Park with Raven Cliff Falls in the background. I knew I wanted to use green on my page, so I chose to scroll through the color combo choices within MDS. The combo I used is: Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Summer Sun, Pool Party and Soft Suede.

After choosing the colors -- my page came together quickly...except for the tie/bow/anchor choice. It took me awhile, but I did find the Summer Starfruit twine (I know it's not Summer Sun, but it's close! lol).

I used the coloring tool to color the 'Inspired by Nature' stamp. I used the 'Decorative Overlay' stamp (flowers) twice on this page.  One for the background -- kinda looks like clouds to me (rotated 90 to the right) ; and one for the paper behind the photo.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Embellishments - Sweet Sorbet Accessory Pack (Summer Starfruit thread and bow)

Stamp Brush Sets - Inspired by Nature (flower - Summer Sun, Soft Suede and Old Olive; grass - Always Artichoke); Decorative Overlays (Pool Party and Always Artichoke)

Punches - Square (filled w/Soft Suede DSP; Summer Sun and Whisper White)

Font - Teen Scene (Summer Sun and Soft Suede)

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Painted Pearls

I wanted to try to use the dots stamp within the Painted Petals set.  I couldn't see myself using it, so I forced myself to play with it today.

I used the color combination of Mellow Moss, Daffodil Delight and Basic Black (along with Whisper White cardstock).  The Moss looks almost Black in this photo though.

I used the Daffodil Blendabilities markers to color the pearls.

Thanks for taking a look!

Supplies Used:
Stamp set - Painted Petals
Ink - Basic Black, Mossy Meadow, Daffodil Delight
Paper - Daffodil Delight, Basic Black and Whisper White
Accessories - Daffodil Delight Taffeta Ribbon, Basic Pearls, glue dot

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Sincere Loss

A loss of a family pet is extremely hard as many become so much a part of the family.  My cousin's dog was such a pet.

I've seen many cards created with the heart and circle punch of a puppy foot (and I've made one before too). This time I added a small heart inside the main foot pad.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:
Stamp Set - Sincere Salutations
Paper - Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Ink - Soft Suede
Accessories - Big Shot, Decorative Dots TIEF, Two-Step Owl Punch (tiny heart), Heart Punch, Flower Frenzy Bigz L Die (circle), Soft Suede taffeta ribbon

Serene Sympathy

I don't usually create so many layers on my cards, but I felt that this truly looks stunning with all it's lovely layers.

My sister-in-law's Uncle just passed away from Esophageal cancer... and the ribbon color for that type of cancer is periwinkle.  Now, periwinkle is a grayish-purple color... so I chose the Wisteria Wonder as my main color.  I know it's not periwinkle, but it's the closest I could come up with.

I broke up the sentiment 'With Sympathy', so it was stacked instead of in a line by using tape on the portion of stamp that I didn't want stamped.

I used a sharpie to color the pearls black.

Thanks for taking a look!

Supplies Used:
Stamp Sets - Bloom with Hope, Serene Silhouettes
Paper - Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White, Basic Black, Wisteria Wonder DSP
Ink - Wisteria Wonder, Basic Black
Accessories - Big Shot, Square Lattice TIEF, Basic Black Taffeta Ribbon, Basic Pearls, Sharpie (Non-SU)

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A Sweet Thing

 

I created this cute card for Mike's Mom who is retiring! She loves bluejays and so I felt this was perfect for her.  The quote I placed on the inside of the card.

I used the Irresistibly Yours DSP in the background, so I could brayer it with the color I wanted (in this case... Marina Mist). I used Stampin' Write markers (Not Quite Navy, Marina Mist, So Saffron and Crumb Cake) to color in the image.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Stamp Sets - A Happy Thing, Sweet Essentials

Ink - Not Quite Navy, Marina Mist, Crumb Cake, So Saffron

Paper - Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Irresistibly Yours DSP

Accessories - Basic Pearls

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Frenzy Day

I wanted to try using the negative image from the leaf part of the Flower Frenzy Bigz L Die on a card. I positioned the black cardstock so just the leaf part would die-cut. Then I turned the cardstock around and die-cut the leaf again.

I adhered the black cardstock on top of the Pear Pizzazz DSP (I used the positive leaf image to make sure the edge pieces that weren't attached were perfectly aligned. Then I trimmed the DSP, so that only the leaf image showed through.

I used the stamp sets 'Borderettes' and 'Big Day' on a piece of Whisper White cardstock and after adhering it, trimmed the edges.

I colored the word 'Birthday' with Pear Pizzazz marker.  I just LOVE how this card turned out -- very striking and has a very masculine feel too (which is what I was going for!).

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used:
Stamp sets - Borderettes, Big Day
Ink - Memento Ink, Pear Pizzazz
Paper - Pear Pizzazz, Basic Black, Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz DSP
Accessories - Big Shot, Flower Frenzy Bigz L Die, scissors

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Hershey Gardens

My Husband went to the Hershey Gardens in May 2014.  Here is my double-page spread of his trip. I believe I was in Cleveland at this time while he was in Harrisburg PA.  I remember that it was after this working trip that he was let go of his job at Avaya.  Wow! What a year of change 2014 was for us.  So very thankful to the Lord that he was hired by Interactive Northwest Inc. in January 2015.

Mike took so many beautiful photos of the gardens... it's always hard to choose just a few to showcase on a scrapbook page.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Supplies Used:

Background - My Sweet Pea DSP#29

Punch - Flag (Chocolate Chip)

Stamp Brush Set - Blossoms Abound (flowers - So Saffron and Pretty in Pink)

Font - Gabriola (Whisper White)

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Seneca Park Zoo

Well.... guess what?  I was wrong... I haven't finished our 2014 photo book yet! I found a few trips that Mike went on without me last year.  So, I will be working on those to get this photo book finished!

In April 2014, Mike went to Rochester, NY for work.  He must have been there for 2 weeks, since he was able to go to the zoo there during the day.  I totally missed out, as there were raccoons at this zoo! How cool is that! (For anyone who doesn't know... I love raccoons!!!!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Background - Night of Navy Textured Cardstock

Embellishments - Walk in the Park II (leaf recolored outline Night of Navy); Dahlias (Night of Navy); Sunshine and Sprinkles (sun); Knots and Ties Trim (Daffodil Delight)

Stamp Brush Set - Solid Stripes (Whisper White)

Punch - Square (filled w/Daffodil Delight)

Font - Elephant (Whisper White) and Cuckoo (Daffodil Delight)

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Christmas 2014

Yay! With this page complete... I believe I've finished our 2014 photo book! Wow! What an accomplishment! I'm so happy I can order it soon!

We didn't do much for Christmas in 2014, but I'm glad we still put up a tree.  Even though we knew we were going to take it down within a week.  (We were in the process of packing and moving to our new home in Oregon from Washington State).

Thanks for taking the time to view my work!

Supplies Used:
Background - Crumb Cake
Punch - Square(filled w/Christmas Jingle DSP#1 recolored Garden Green; Candy Cane Lane DSP#2)
Embellishments - Cherry Cobbler Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon)
Stamp Brush Set - Hello December Project Life (words - Whisper White)
Font - Arial Narrow (Whisper White)

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Legoland2014

I used a sketch I found on the SweetShoppe website.  Here is the sketch:

Since we went to Legoland in December... I wanted my paper to reflect winter.  Most of my paper that I have in my software, was not what I wanted for my page.  I'll tell you how I created my background piece.  I started with a Basic Black background. I added a square punch shape to encompass the whole page and inserted Christmas Cocoa II DSP (it's originally brown with white snowflakes).  Once added, I changed the opacity on the paper to 20%.  This way you can still see soft snowflakes on the black background. Clever - Huh?

Now, on to how I created the Lego bricks.  No real mystery here. Just square punches with circle punches on top (the shadow I used for each circle is 0,0). Then, I added the Lego name in a text box. Yes, a lot of work, but it was so worth it.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Supplies Used:

Background - Basic Black

Punch - Square (filled w/ Christmas Cocoa II DSP #3; Real Red, Summer Sun, Pacific Point, Gumball Green); Circle (filled w/Real Red, Summer Sun, Pacific Point and Gumball Green)

Font - LegoThick (Basic Black and Basic Gray) and Cerebral (Basic Gray)

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Family Photo Shoot

Continuing work on our 2014 photo book.  Mike's Mom wanted everyone together to have a family photo taken, so Mike and I flew down for a short visit.  Shari Correll is a wonderful photographer and she got everyone to relax and have some fun with these pictures.

We are missing one family member in this Malcor Family photo. Bryna (Linda's daughter) was not able to be there.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Background - Not Quite Navy DSP

Punch - Square (filled w/Whisper White)

Embellishments - Festive Flower (Whisper White recolored Not Quite Navy); Soft Bloom (Wisteria Wonder recolored Not Quite Navy); Timeless Taffetta Trimmings (Not Quite Navy); Basic Pearls recolored Not Quite Navy

Font - Majestic (Not Quite Navy and Whisper White)

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The Malcor Family - MDSM109

The MDS Monday Blog (really Heidi) has a new sketch for us today MDSM109.  You may view all the great pages created by the design team here:

http://mdsmonday.blogspot.com/2015/04/mdsm-109-linear-checkerboard.html

I used photos that were taken of our "Malcor Family" photo shoot in California in Dec 2014.  I had a hard time figuring out what papers to use... as each photo had different colors in them (and my brother-in-law's family all had bright red scarves on). After spending a lot of time changing out papers... I said why don't I just change the photos to black and white! Whew! After that things went a whole lot easier. LOL!

I used photo boxes for each square, and the boxes that do not have photos in them -- I used the 'Love Story Project Life cards'.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Background - Whisper White

Stamp Brush Set - Vintage Overlays (Basic Gray)

Embellishments - Love Story cards and leaf (Basic Black at 30% opacity)

Punch - Square (filled w/Basic Gray)

Font - Pristina (Basic Black)

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Fabulous Shop

I have always wanted to try to emboss on vellum... well, today was THE day! Wow! I love the results! Beautiful!

I also wanted to try coloring the rhinestones with the blendabilities markers -- ta da! Did it today! Lovely!

I see now that I maybe should have white embossed the sentiment... cuz the black really stands out in my Gray/Yellow/White card, but other than that! I believe my card is gorgeous (IMHO)! LOL!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Supplies Used:
Stamp Sets - Flower Shop, Fabulous Four
Ink - Versamark, Memento, Smoky Slate
Paper - Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Irresistibly Yours DSP, Daffodil Delight, WhiteVellum
Accessories - Big Shot, Fancy Fan TIEF, Flower Frenzy Bigz L Die, Pansy Punch, Whisper White Satin Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Maui 2014

I've been working on our 2014 photobook these past couple of days, with our trip to Maui in October 2014. We try to go to one Hawaiian Island each year around our anniversary (this was our 11th anniversary).

I decided to use one kit throughout my pages -- Paradise Found! <--- Lovely name, isn't it! 

Well, I did use other stamps too - Natural Composition Overlays - to get the 'sand' effect in the background piece.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used:

Background - Crumb Cake

Stamp Brush Set - Natural Composition Overlays (Sahara Sand); Paradise Found (palm tree - Close to Cocoa and Old Olive)

Embellishments - Paradise Found (words, flowers, leaf, hula girls)

Punch - Starburst (Summer Sun); Square (filled w/Whisper White and Paradise Found DSP)

Font - Brisk (Close to Cocoa)

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Oregon Aquarium - MDSM108

Tami has a wonderful sketch for us over at MDS Monday.  You may view the challenge along with all the pages created by the talented and lovely ladies of the design team here:  http://mdsmonday.blogspot.com/2015/04/mdsm-108-focus-on-journaling.html

I knew immediately which photos to scrap for this page.... our trip to the Oregon Coast and to the aquarium....as we took so many photos. We had a good time with my brother who came out to visit our new home and to spend a few days with us.

A few things to note: when creating the color for the Title word 'Aquarium', I used the 'picker tool' within MDS to select the color inside the Island Indigo Patterns DSP.  I used a text box filled with a period to create the dots on the starfish. I outlined the starfish by adding a slightly bigger starfish behind it in Basic Black.

I was so happy when I found the shark and the helm stamp, as I wasn't sure what kind of elements to use on my page. The page looked so plain without that subtle helm stamp in the background... and who doesn't use a shark stamp on an aquarium page. LOL! Glad I searched my stash!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Background - Island Indigo

Stamp Brush Sets - Anchors Away (helm - Basic Black at 20% opacity; shark - Basic Black; starfish - Basic Black and lighter shade of Island Indigo)

Punch - Square (filled w/Island Indigo DSP, Basic Black DSP and Basic Black)

Font - Aurora BT (Basic Black); Bow (lighter shade of Island Indigo); Beach (Basic Black)

Cross of Style

A very good friend of ours is completing the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) process, and this Easter will become a Catholic.

I wanted to create a masculine feel to the card, as well as have an Irish cross on it (his wife is from Ireland and they lived there for several years).

The colors red and white are what is used for Confirmation, so I chose that along with black.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used:
Stamp set - Crosses of Hope
Ink - Memento Ink, Real Red Blendabilities, Basic Black
Paper - Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories - Stylish Stripes TIEF, Big Shot, Windows Collection Framelits, dimensionals, Red Ribbon (non-SU)

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Easter2015

When I downloaded the Easter Blessing Ensemble digital download for My Digital Studio, I noticed that a card template was part of that download.  The card was so beautiful, I figured I would use that for my Easter cards this year.  All without having to change anything!!!! Even better!

Now, I did design the inside of the card all by myself with the stamps provided in that same kit!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:
Background - Easter Blessings DSP
Embellishments - Easter Blessings (flower and frame)
Stamp Brush Set - Easter Blessings (words)

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Painted Dreams

What a wonderful color combination - Crisp Cantaloupe, Sahara Sand and Whisper White!

I used the Sweet Dreams washi tape on the left edge of the Whisper White cardstock.  I used Sahara Sand for the flower stems and the words. Next, I used Crisp Cantaloupe for the flower buds. The ribbon is not Crisp Cantaloupe.... although, it does look very similar -- it's Groovy Guava (retired ribbon).

Thanks for taking a peek!

Supplies Used:
Stamp set - Painted Petals
Ink - Sahara Sand, Crisp Cantaloupe
Paper - Sahara Sand, Crisp Cantaloupe, Whisper White
Accessories - Sweet Dreams washi tape, Double Stitched Ribbon (Groovy Guava), glue dot

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Big Owl

Our nieces LOVE owls, so I try to make them as often as I can for when there birthdays roll around. I saw a post-it note holder on Pinterest and just thought it was so cute.

Here is the photo of the post-it note holder (cute - huh?):

I used retired DSP and found ways to use my framelits, die-cuts and punches to create my owl.

Thanks for taking a look!

Supplies Used:

Paper - Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Real Red, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Love Specialty DSP

Accessories - Big Shot, Flower Fair (beak),Ovals Collection (body), Itty Bitty Accents Punch (small heart), Perfect Print Numbers Bigz Die (big heart), Flower Frezy Bigz L Die (eye iris), Circle Punch (white eyeball), Pink Pirouette Taffeta Ribbon, glue dot, White Watercolor Crayon

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

South Falls -MDS107

I decided to play with the sketch this week on MDS Monday.  You may view the challenge on their blog here: http://mdsmonday.blogspot.com/2015/03/mdsm-107-journaling-with-freeform.html  Cindy has a great sketch - and - such a cool technique to create shaped journaling.

I, too, used the Freeform Tool to create a box. As I am not well versed with this "tool" it took some trial and error to first get a box, and then to have my text go the 'right' way on the box. (The first time I created a box -- the words, when attached, went counter clockwise and inside the box. The second time I created a box -- the words, when attached went clockwise and were outside the box). <--- Interesting - Huh! You learn something new (at least I did) everyday!
Thanks Cindy for the challenge!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies Used:
Background - Old Olive
Embellishments - Basic Pearls; Basic Gray Grosgrain Ribbon; Feast of Thanks (leaf); Walk in the Park II (leaf border - recolored Sahara Sand); Dahlias
Punch - Square (filled w/Basic Gray DSP and Basic Gray); Eyelet Border (Sahara Sand)
Freeform Tool (created a line box for the journaling to follow path)
Font - Lover's Quarrel and Boho (Whisper White)