Monday's MDC Sketch Challenge and a Joy Fold Card

Hello:) Today at the MDC Challenge blog we had a scrapbooking sketch challenge - love those! We used sketch #7 from Julie Bonner's 52 Sketches 52 Weeks blog - Julie has such awesome sketches!




I liked this sketch a lot - mostly because it's definitely different than anything I would have come up with, but it's still kind of organized and symmetrical; I like symmetry and balance when I work! Normally I feel the need to fill up the whole page, but when I think of this particular layout, the simplicity gives greater weight to the photo, so that's really cool.

The paper I used was from this new company we got in at the store, Mark's Paper Company. The bling is from Zva Creative, and the felt butterfly and the little plastic swirl are from American Crafts. The snaps are just some generic brown ones I had. Pretty simple all in all.

This is another page that evolved kind of backwards. I started with the sketch and the paper I wanted to use and then developed that page. I originally thought it was going to be a heritage layout, but midway through it I realized I had a title in mind and that it was a page about my brother. The 15th marked a year since he passed away; it feels so unreal. In some ways I still can't believe it, except for the fact that he's really not here.

So the page is called "I Miss Your Face" and the journaling is very simple: " It's just one of many memories I hold on to. It's been a long damn year. Love you."

I also took time today to complete a card I had started for VSN but couldn't get done in time. The challenge was to use the Joy fold technique, and oddly enough when I printed the tutorial and started cutting I accidentally used the "alternate" directions, so mine is a little different shape than most of the Joy fold technique cards! Only me... lol! Here's my card:

I was happy to use this paper from Imaginisce that I really love, and it's the first time I got to use their new snag 'em stamps from their Twitterpated line. Those little guys are super cute! I chose to paper piece the birdy to make sure he would stand out against the cloud paper background. For the medallion closure, I punched the flower circle from another Imaginisce patterned paper, then added dimension by handcutting another flower and mounting it over the first with pop dots. The little music notes are just hand drawn (not very well - sorry!) Here's a view of the card open:

You can download the Joy fold technique in the resource section at Splitcoast stampers - it was a fun card to make and good for something a little different.

Thanks for stopping in - hope you have a wonderful day!

Feb09VSN and a Scrapbooking Challenge

Well, the Feb09 VSN at Splitcoast Stampers is over and I'm SO bummed! I had to work this whole weekend so I only had time to make one card, and I barely got that uploaded on time... I hate work! It seriously interferes with my stamping and scrapping and blogging time... lol... I Do wish they would give you a few extra days to upload since I'm sure I'm not the only poor sap who gets stuck working weekends, but they always cut it off on Sundays. Anyway, they had a lot of challenge ideas I really liked and that actually inspired some ideas, so I may still do some as I have time just for fun.


Anyway, the challenge I was able to complete was based on the Sound of Music - specifically that one song... these are a few of my favorite things.... I'm not sure what the actual song title is. I've always loved that song and the movie, so it was easy for me to get some inspiration on this one. Anyway, you had to pull from colors in the song, use ribbon, and use some kind of image from the song, like whiskers or snowflakes, etc. I chose white and blue for my colors and the line "girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes...." - so here's my card:


That patterned paper I used is from Melissa Frances - the Girly Girl kit. I also used a Stampavie stamp, ribbon from SU and from May Arts, pearl bling from Kaiser, stickles from Ranger, and cardstock from SU: Whisper White, Mellow Moss, and Brocade Blue.


I want to thank the ladies over at Splitcoast for how take their own personal time to come up with the ideas and moderate these challenges - I always have so much fun and get a lot of great ideas, even if I don't get to play along as often as I'd like!


Last week at the MDC Challenge blog we challenged our designers to use the new lace cardstock we got in from sei. I'm just in love with this product - it is die cut and white and very versatile! You have to check out the challenge blog to see all the different ways our designers used lace cardstock - I made this page:



The lace cardstock and the background paper are both from sei; I printed the title on my computer and cut it out with a Marvy Uchida scallop punch; the pearl bling is from Kaiser, the butterfly is from this May Arts ribbon, and the pink gingham ribbon is from SU.

I cut the lace cardstock into a frame for my photo, and also wove ribbon through it. It's so funny, this page, because I used the picture only because it matched the paper I wanted to use, which is the opposite of the way I normally work, but since I needed to use the lace cardstock everything was kind of built around that.

Anyway, my dd had a hard time from about 4 weeks old until she was almost a year old - she had acid reflux so she cried a lot, and she also always HATED it when we left the house, so any time we were out in public she would either shut down and sleep the whole time, or fuss the whole time. Then the instant we arrived home she was an entirely different kid! She's still that way - she's super sensitive to noise so she really hates leaving the house and argues about it a lot.

Anyway, this particular day, she was just fussing and fussing and fussing and I was so h*** bent on getting the perfect picture because back then I thought everything was supposed to be perfect and I had to have professional photos of all the milestone ages.... I know - all you mothers of one are saying 'of course you do!' and all you mothers of two or more are laughing! Now I go entire years and forget to get any professional pictures taken! So, the photographer kept putting dd's binkie in and then pulling it out and trying to snap the picture before she started wailing, and we ended up with this odd 'kissy' face look which is really the beginning of a good old fashioned scream. So, everytime I see this picture that's all I can see is how silly her lips look, and I remember how awful that day was! So, I was pleasantly surprised that after I scrapbooked it, I actually liked it better than I did before! It changed it for me... looking at how the pink ribbon and lace cardstock echo the trim on her dress... and, IRL the back of the sei paper that I used has a slight pearl finish and the whole thing just looks very soft and feminine and pretty.... so now I am thinking of all the thoughts I had BEFORE the actual picture was taken, how I picked the dress because I thought the color would compliment her skin and eyes, and how excited I was when I found the little shoes. I guess there is still a little of that 'perfect' mom syndrome buried down in there somewhere, under the hectic, crazy life that we actually lead! Hope you guys all have a wonderful day and remember some long lost part of yourself too:)

Sometimes The Best Things...

Come in small packages! Today's challenge at the MDC Challenge blog was to create a Valentine themed ATC. ATC's are pint sized "trading cards" that are designed to share your art among friends and fellow artists. ATC's are 2.5" x 3.5". One of our designers, Cathy, wrote up an awesome tutorial and instructions on her blog as she creates and trades ATC's frequently. If you want to play along with our challenge you should definitely check out her blog; she has also put together two prize packages to give away!

Here's the front of my Valentine ATC:

I used patterned papers from Prima, a sentiment stamp from Daisy Bucket, a flower from Zva Creative, and a pearl accent from Kaiser. I used a Marvy heart scallop punch, stamped the sentiment inside it, then adhered it to the right side of the card, trimming away the excess heart shape. The black lacy border was created with a Martha Stewart border punch.

Another special aspect of ATC's is that typically the backs are signed and dated by the creator, so here's a look at what I did for the back side:

The paper is the reverse side of the same Prima paper I used on the front of the card, and the stamp is from Prima as well. Pretty simple! This was my first ATC and I really enjoyed it - can't wait to make some more! Keep your ears tuned... we're thinking of arranging an ATC swap that will allow our MDC designers to trade with our customers! More info on that in future posts; in the mean time, head on over to our challenge blog and see if you can win one of Cathy's great prize boxes!!

MDCC30 - Paper Piercing

Hello! It's here, my second post! I seem to have tons of ideas and very little time these days. I have a big test to take tomorrow to get a promotion at my job, and then hopefully my posts will be a little more regular again!

I just had a moment today to make a quickie card for today's challenge at the MDC Challenge blog - the challenge is paper piercing. Here is my card:

Sorry for the really poor picture - it's actually cold in Florida today so I didn't want to be out very long!!

My card used paper and rub-ons from Basic Grey's Urban Prairie collection, and a sentiment stamp from Daisy Bucket. I did my paper piercing as flower stems and the butterfly trail. I pierced in for the stems and out for the trail for added texture. The Martha Stewart border punch I used for the black border had some holes in it that went along great with the piercing theme. Hope you enjoy and keep checking back - I have a lot to share coming up!