Feeling Sentimental

Merry Christmas!!! I'm taking a break from all the Christmas magic to share my layout for the "Feeling Sentimental" challenge. Actually, there was a bit of magic involved in creating this layout. I hummed and hawed and stared at it for about a hundred years, and then, "poof!" It finally came together. 

I had a very clear vision in mind when I began. It involved a "winterish twig thing". My ideas are usually born from a weird thought such as this. I don't question it. LOL! 

I used an old scrap of paper by Pebbles to create the twig branches. The background was created with liquid watercolors by Pinkfresh, and some of the paper behind the photo is by Pinkfresh, as well. 

Don’t forget to join in the fun in the Paper Issues facebook group! And, of course, when you're shopping in the store, don’t forget to use my discount code for 20% off!

Rolling With the Punches

Hi everybody! I'm here to share my layout for the "Rolling With the Punches" challenge. I was excited about this one as soon as I read the description. I don't use punches very often, so I was glad that this challenge left a bit of room for interpretation. I decided to use one of my favorite techniques: rolling patterned paper. Here's my layout:

I love clouds. Clouds are my jam. I've had an idea floating around in my head for a while, specifically, "honkin' big clouds with random stuff hanging from them". My ideas are usually quite specific and make perfect sense. Ahem.

I decided to do paper strips with rolled ends hanging from my clouds. This was a perfect project for using up scraps, which I'm trying to a lot of lately so that I can make room for new goodies from the store.

Don’t forget to join in the fun in the Paper Issues facebook group! And, of course, when you're shopping in the store, don’t forget to use my discount code for 20% off!

Put a Word on It

Hi everyone! I'm seriously excited to share my layout for the "Put a Word on It" challenge! I love hand lettering, and I wanted to try it on a layout. Luckily for me, it seemed to work out on this one.

I hand lettered the title and journaling, then used some water color paint to fill in the title a bit. I love the coloring book effect it created. Next, I fussy cut some leaves from leftover scraps of patterned paper. I used some thread to add interest and added some die cut houses that I had leftover. I also went back and did some splatters with more watercolors.

Don’t forget to join in the fun in the Paper Issues facebook group! And, of course, when you're shopping in the store, don’t forget to use my discount code for 20% off!

Hunger Games

Hi everyone! I'm just dropping by to share my layout for the Hunger Games challenge. I absolutely LOVE baking, so I was excited to have an excuse to document my sweet creations. Here's what I came up with:

I used the gorgeous Indigo Hills 2 collection from PinkFresh Studio for this layout. In order to create the giant cupcake, I just printed out a simple clipart cupcake that I found on the internet. I cut the pieces of the cupcake apart and used them as templates to trace on my patterned paper. I spend a lot of time baking cupcakes, so it worked perfectly with my photo. 

Don’t forget to join in the fun in the Paper Issues facebook group! And, of course, when you're shopping in the store, don’t forget to use my discount code for 20% off!

Scraplift Sunday!

Hi everybody! I am so excited about this scraplift! Full disclosure: I am usually the last person you want using a sketch or doing a scraplift. I always start off okay, but wind up going off the rails somewhere along the way. My end product never seems to resemble the sketch or layout I started with, and I worry about offending the original creator. For once, I feel really good about this one! Here's the inspiration layout:

Can we all just take a minute and appreciate how stinkin' cool all Lisa's layouts are? She has this talent for making her pages look like she just flung things hither and yon, but it winds up looking like a work of art. A-ma-zing!

Although her style is very different from mine, I always appreciate the "bones" of Lisa's layouts. In this one, I wanted to recreate the basic structure of her page while giving it my own twist. Here's what I wound up with:

I really love this one! Instead of a large rectangle to anchor the back of the layout, I created a rectangle with my paint and stitching. I just built on from there. The patterned paper is from the Lil' Dude collection by Simple Stories.

Don’t forget to join in the fun in the Paper Issues facebook group! And, of course, when you're shopping in the store, don’t forget to use my discount code for 20% off!

Scrap Soup

Hi everybody. Today, I'm sharing a layout I made for Scrap Soup this month. Here's the recipe:

1 cut file or 5 die cuts 

The color orange 

lined patterned paper 

one triangle 

3 photos 

At first, I was a bit intimidated by this recipe. I don't use cut files, and I was pretty sure I had no die cuts. I was also worried about the three photos. I almost always use one photo. I finally decided to quit being a whiner and look at this as an opportunity to stretch myself a little. Here's what I came up with: 

I used my the Indigo Hills 2 collection from Pinkfresh Studio. This collection is just too beautiful for words. There are so many elements in the patterned papers that are just begging to be fussy cut. I cut out the leaves and arranged them with my white leaf "die cuts". I used orange ink to splatter the background, and there's a little triangle tucked behind my title. 

Don’t forget to join in the fun in the Paper Issues facebook group! And, of course, when you're shopping in the store, don’t forget to use my discount code for 20% off! 

Sewing Bee

Hi everyone. I'm here sharing my layout for the Sewing Bee challenge. I used to say that sewing on a layout was my arch nemesis. I guess it still kind of is, but I'm determined to get better at it! I love the look of hand stitching on my pages, but I always make a mess in the process. Please just don't ever look at the back of this one, ok? LOL!

I used some patterned papers from the Lil Dude collection by Simple Stories. I love the combination of the yellow thread with the blue and black/white patterned paper. 

Don’t forget to join in the fun in the Paper Issues facebook group! And, of course, when you're shopping in the store, don’t forget to use my discount code for 20% off! 

 

Listful Thinking

Hi everybody! I'm just stopping by to share my layout for the Listful Thinking challenge. I had this old photo of my sweet boy walking down the path near our house many moons ago. It's been begging to be scrapped for years, and this was the perfect time.

I used the My Bright Life 6 x 6 paper pad for this layout. I know green isn't the most fall-ish color out there, but for some reason, I thought it worked.

I hope there are lots of walks through crunchy leaves in the near future for you! Don’t forget to join in the fun in the Paper Issues facebook group! And, of course, when you're shopping in the store, don’t forget to use my discount code for 20% off! 

Pop it Up

Hi everybody! Sindi here. I'm just sharing my layout for the Pop, Lock, and Drop It challenge. This was an easy challenge for me, because I almost always try to add plenty of dimension in my layouts. This is probably why all my albums are overflowing and way too fat. Of course, they would be if I'd actually put the giant stack of layouts that are finished into albums, but that's a whole 'nother story.

I was once again able to get by with using scraps for this layout. I rolled up strips of Maggie Holmes' Flourish paper. I just adore that collection! I also fussy cut some of the flowers. Sometimes, I just like to have a clean and simple white background with simple embellishments. The rolled up paper and fussy cut flowers was perfect for that. 

I hope you'll play along and share your creations in our Facebook group.  And, when you're ready to snag some more scrappy goodies, hop over to the shop and use my code to save some cash! 

Swanky Swatches

Hi everyone. I'm just stopping by to share my Swanky Swatches layout. Here's the inspiration photo:

I was excited about the pastel color scheme. I couldn't decide on just a couple of colors to use, so I dug through my stash and found as many colors as possible that matched the photo. I've been trying to use up some of my scrap pieces lately so that I can make room for my brand new PI goodies that should be arriving shortly.

I remembered these sweet little photos of my boy when he was a little guy. They seemed to work well with the pastel color scheme. I used some chipboard letters from my stash for the title and cut some leftover patterned paper into fringes and random rectangles to decorate across the bottom half.

I hope you'll play along and share your creations in our Facebook group.  And, when you're ready to snag some more scrappy goodies, hop over to the shop and use my code to save some cash! 

Stars and Stripes

Hello all you lovely people! Today, I'm sharing my layout for the Stars and Stripes challenge. I was a little worried about this one, because I don't normally use holiday themed supplies for my layouts. The nerves went out the window when I saw the new patriotic line by Pebbles! It's completely adorable, and I couldn't wait to work with it. Here's my layout:

That photo of my boy, though! He was so bummed out because it rained out the fireworks that year. I created some concentric stitched circles over some of the pattered paper and then cut out some arrows to go over everything. I simply cannot do a layout without arrows of some sort. It's a rule. 

If you are ready to grab some amazing paper goodies, hop on over to the shop and use my code for 20% off! I also hope you'll share your creations in our Facebook group. 

July SLS 1

Yay for scraplifting! I was really excited when I saw the layout we would be lifting for the first SLS of July. I love all Lisa's layouts, but this one in particular really caught my eye: 

I always love designing a layout around a big circle. I created a large circle with hand stitching, and overlapped a few circle layers to match Lisa's cut file. Here's my layout:

I decided to create some embellishments for my layouts by adding a few stitched X's, some buttons, and sequins. I also created some quick paper arrows and stitched those down as well. 

I hope you'll stop by our Facebook group and join in on the fun, and if you're shopping for more scrappy goodies, don't forget to use my code fore 20% off when you stop by the Paper Issues Shop! 

This or That

Hello everyone! Happy summer! I'm here to share my layout for This or That. For this challenge, we are given a list of options and asked to choose one or the other. Here's the list:

1. doodling or paint
2. enamel dots or mist
3. tag or label
4. flair or wood veneer
5. cardstock stickers or chipboard stickers
6. sewing (can be faux) or twine
7. thickers or a die cut title
8. heart or star
9. silver or gold
10. bow or doily

And, from that list, here are the choices I made:

1. paint
2. mist
3. tag
4. wood veneer
5. cardstock stickers
6. sewing
7. thickers
8. heart
9. silver
10. bow

This was quite the challenge for me! Here's what I came up with:

I just love mixing bright yellows with cool-toned blues against the bright white of the thread and cardstock. 

I was able to fussy cut the clouds from what was left of a sheet of American Crafts patterned paper. I love it when I can find a use for leftovers! 

I hope you'll stop by our Facebook group and join in on the fun, and if you're shopping for more scrappy goodies, don't forget to use my code fore 20% off when you stop by the Paper Issues Shop! 

52 Faves

Today, I'm playing catch up on my 52 Favorites album. I have gotten a bit behind, but I'm really enjoying this project. I decided to use it as a way to document all the things I'm thankful for. When I started this project, I made my own notebook to keep everything in. It's coptic stitched, which makes it lay flat and creates an easier canvas to work on. 

There is something about coptic stitching that I just love. It's really not as hard as it might seem, and once I got the routine down, it became a quick and easy way to put a notebook together. Here is my spread for week 21: 

I used the gorgeous Flourish collection for this spread. That little deer was just dying to be put on a page! My journaling is on a flap behind the deer, and I decided to leave it hidden. I have my journaling front and center on some weeks, it really just depends on what's going on that week, I suppose. 

If you are ready to grab some amazing paper goodies, hop on over to the shop and use my code for 20% off! I also hope you'll share your creations in our Facebook group. 

Mad for Monochromatic

Hi everyone! I'm here today with a layout for the Mad for Monochromatic challenge. As soon as I saw the title of the challenge, I knew the exact photo I wanted to use and the colors I'd put with it. I have had this photo of my baby boy in my scraproom for ages. I used it forever ago on a layout, but I was never happy with it. I just couldn't seem to do it justice. This challenge gave me the push I needed to figure it out. Here's my layout: 

My son has the bluest eyes I've ever seen! I loved the idea of going monochromatic for this photo. I had to toss a smidge of something else in there, though, so I used some gold letter stickers. 

I started this layout by painting the background with some gelatos. I did this a bit haphazardly; precision is not my friend when it comes to painting! I then lightly traced a circle and made some holes so that I could add some thread. If you've seen my layouts before, you know I have a bit of a thing for arrows. It's actually a challenge for me not to use them on a layout. I decided to dig through my bucket of scraps and dig out all the blue I could find. I then used them to cut arrows and arranged them around my stitched circle. This one came together fairly quickly. 

If you are ready to grab some amazing paper goodies, hop on over to the shop and use my code for 20% off! I also hope you'll share your creations in our Facebook group. 

Scrap Lift Sunday!

Hi everyone! Today, we are scraplifting this gorgeous layout by Anita: 

I really loved the linear design of this layout, and that's what I took my inspiration from. 

I decided to challenge myself a bit with this one. I used only scraps of patterend paper that I had left over from other projects. All of these goodies came from the Paper Issues shop, of course. 

I also love the photo of my sweet boy. I've been scrapping older photos of him lately in an attempt to hide myself from the fact that he's fifteen all of a sudden. Lol! 

If you are ready to snag yourself some paper wonderfulness, hop on over to the shop and use my code for 20% off! I also hope you'll share your creations in our Facebook group. 

Spring!

I am so excited about spring! As soon as I heard about the Spring has Sprung challenge, I thought of this photo from many moons ago. My son was so excited about the new baby lambs at his grandpa's farm. This little lamb was the runt of the litter, and we spoiled him rotten. 

I used the absolutely gorgeous The Good Life collection from Webster's. I don't have adequate vocabulary to describe how much I love this collection. I never knew I needed lemony paper in my life, but now I'm in love! It's just so bright and pretty. 

If you want to snag some of the lemony wonderfulness, ('cause that's totally a thing), don't forget to use my code to save some cash. And don't forget to post your creations in our facebook group. Happy spring!