Basic Sketch

Here is the Kiwi Lane Basic Sketch for this week:

And although I really should make some cards soon, I turned it into a layout:

I know it's SUPER colorful and busy! But it's for a birthday party and I like it!

I really like the "tag background" I used from the sketch:

It just screams "celebration" to me!

The paper is a mix of old Close To My Heart and all the cutouts are from Out On A Limb Scapbooking (sale!sale!sale!). You can see all of their cute stuff HERE. 

This cake is my favorite:

Ok everyone! It's a card sketch, so it's super easy... and it's only Tuesday, so you have PLENTY of time to enter! Go to Kiwi Lane's Facebook page and check it out!

Pansy #8

I have always liked the Scrapbook Steals Mid-Week Mojo sketch series they do. Every week they have a new sketch, and at the end of a 10 sketch run they have a big prize and start over! I of course only decide to start at the very end...

So here is sketch Pansy #8:

The only problem is that they are ALWAYS one-pagers!

But I can fix that :)

So here is my 2-page version:

I thought those squares in the sketch would be a perfect spot for a bunch of those pocket-page journaling spots:

I think it worked!

This striped paper:

was the "cover page" off a collection kit I bought. You know, the front where they show you little strips of each paper in the kit? Never throw those away!!! They make great striped paper!

This sketch ends today, but go HERE on Wednesday for a new one!

Thanks for looking!

DT Doodles #16

This was really LAST week's Kiwi Lane DT Doodle sketch...

But I was in the Blog Hop and didn't want to mess things up!

So here is the (now) outdated sketch:

And here is my layout:

I am sooooo ready for hoodies-and-jeans weather! I HATE Summer!!! So in the spirit of whining, I made a Springtime snowflake layout!

Remember in 2010 when it randomly snowed 3 inches on May 24th?

No?

Well it was AWESOME!!!

I used the poinsetta template from the Winter set and cut out the centers free hand to make my big snowflakes:

I swiped a Versamark Ink pad on the edges of my borders and heat embossed in white to make it look "snowy". My little snowflakes are punches and everything is outlined in a glitter pen:

Now off to work on THIS weeks sketch...

Visit Kiwi Lane's Facebook page to participate!

Kiwi Lane BLOG HOP!

It's BLOG HOP time again!!!

I am so excited and honored to be part of another great Kiwi Lane Blog Hop!

I am the second-to-last link of this hop. You should have arrived here from Brittany's BLOG. If this is your first time, go back to Kiwi Lane's blog HERE to start the hop. You want to make sure to visit and COMMENT on ALL the blogs (including Kiwi Lane's) to be entered to win a $25 credit! The blog hop will end Sunday August 24th at midnight and the winner will be announced Monday August 25th! Get hopping!

This month I am featuring the Playtime designer template set:

I'll be honest, this was never one of my favorite sets. In fact, it was one of the last 2 sets I didn't own! It was so "boyish" and "limiting"...

I didn't need it! 

I have REALLY changed my mind!

Using ONLY the playtime templates, I made this girly layout:

Not so boyish and limiting, huh!

I turned the cars into scallops and the dragonfly into a flower!

To make a car-scallop, first turn your paper strip over. You're going to be making an awful lot of pencil lines and you don't want all that showing on the front of your cute girly layout!

Draw a line with a ruler about where you want your scallops to start:

Place the bottom of your car template along that line and trace the tire bumps:

Drive your car along your line just til it's past the first tire bumps, then trace the tires again:

... And again:

... And before you know it you have a full strip of scallops:

Cut it out and turn it over:

Ink and glue down:

Ta-da! Out of a CAR! I used the same technique with the larger car to make the larger scallops. As an added bonus, both these sizes fit perfectly even across a 12 inch strip! No "half scallops" at the ends!

To make a dragonfly-flower, you're going to want to work on the back of the paper again. My paper was really dark on back, so I am showing you this technique on scrap paper.

Trace just the wings of your dragonfly:

Rotate your dragonfly til it's just overlapping your first wing-trace and trace the wings again:

One last time:

Cut it out:

Ink and glue down:

I love the skiwampus look! Each flower will always be different! I cut 2 more flowers each smaller than the last to make my flower layered on my layout.

So many fun things you can do when you start thinking outside the template box:

You can find the Playtime set and SOOOOOO much more at Kiwi Lane's shop HERE. These templates are addicting and scrapbook life changing and awesome!!! You've been warned...

Next you want to go to Erica's blog HERE and see what cuteness she has to offer!

Thanks for hopping!

Mon Ami Gabby + Kiwi Lane

I have a Design Team post over at Kiwi Lane today!!!

Go HERE to see my big giant face.

This month I received a big pile of pretties from Mon Ami Gabby! Seriously beautiful stuff! Everything was very dimensional and maybe not acid free... MINI ALBUM!!!

Here is what I made:

The photos going in here are not printed yet... but they match perfectly :)

If you want to see how to make this scallop:

using the balloon shape from the Celebrate set or see how to gather burlap ribbon like this:

with no tools at all then you need to go to Kiwi Lane's blog HERE!

If you just want a BUNCH of photos, you've come to the right place!

Pages 1 and 2:

Pages 3 and 4:

Pages 5 and 6:

Pages 7 and 8:

Pages 9 and 10:

And the back cover:

I had WAY too much fun with the Mon Ami Gabby ribbon and twine!

The front is still my favorite:

I made the flower by just hand stitching along one side of the ribbon and gathering it into a rossette:

Ok! One last picture because I love this butterfly:

Whew!

Picture overload!

See you soon!

Layout for August

Oops!

Here is the layout my Close To My Heart scrapbook group ALREADY MADE for August:

This beautiful paper and dimensional elements are all discontinued and sold out... But it WAS the Balloon Ride Paper Packet, the matching Balloon Ride Dimensional Elements, and the Clear Sparkles pack. The Clear Sparkles are still available!

I really love the matching chipboard CTMH is doing lately! There is NO stamping on this layout because everything I would have stamped was already in Dimensional Element form...

The title:

Big flowers:

And even an extra cluster of fluff:

Big fan!

Expect to see nothing but chipboard a few more times, I'm sure!

Thanks for looking!

Basic Sketch

Another Kiwi Lane Design Team perk post!!!

I got the sketch early so I could make an example! 

So this Basic Sketch went up on Kiwi Lane's Facebook page this morning:

And mine is already done and in the scrapbook!!!

See:

That's right! An entire scrapbook layout devoted to my children's flip flops!

I had this perfect paper sitting there waiting for the perfect moment with the perfect pictures... and I am really trying to combat that lately. I decided NOW is the perfect everything and I used those "special" papers!

I love the "oh flip":

I am apparently still on my only-use-patterned-paper kick. Even with my journaling strips:

Please excuse my terrible handwriting!

You have PLENTY of time to make your own layout!

Go!

DT Doodles #15

Here is Kiwi Lane's DT Doodle #15 for this week:

 

It's a card sketch! These ones are so fast and easy, everyone head to their Facebook page HERE and enter yourself right now!

That being said...

I took the not-so-easy-but-still-faster-than-designing-it-all-by-myself route and turned the sketch into a 2-page layout:

Since this last week was Kiwi Lane's birthday, I figured I'd stay with the theme!

I love to put my titles following along a template:

Always an easy option when I'm stuck for title placement!

I did go a bit overboard with balloons: 

But once I started cutting them out and slapping them down it was too fun and cute to stop! And then I got to decorate them with my glitter gel!!!

Happy times!

Sometimes when the page is busy I like to pop up my journaling:

It helps me remember that the STORY is supposed to be just as important as the PHOTOS; and of course the super cute paper...

It was really fun to use ONLY patterned paper on this layout! No cardstock! 

Go make your own!