My Scraps and More April Sketchathon

My Scraps & More is hosting a Sketchathon this month.  There will be daily sketch challenges (but with a twist!) and a great prize at the end of the month.   We'd love to have you join us in the forum and play along!

Here's my layout for the first sketch.  The twist on this one was to use the word "first" or "1st" on your page.  I went back a few years to 1983 for these pictures of my kids on their first plane ride.  I remember my son was so excited because the stewardess pinned some pilot wings on him when we got off the plane!

 

I used some Simple Stories papers and stickers on this one, and some Mr. Huey's mists for the splatters.  I'm entering this page into the March challenge at The Crafty Scrappers,  to use paint or mist on your project.

It's an "Anything Goes" challenge @ Love to Scrap !

Our first November challenge @ Love to Scrap is one of the more popular themes - anything goes!  As long as you have a stamped (rubber or digi) image on your project, you can use whatever colors, theme, and items you want.

This November, I'm trying my hand at a "30 days of Gratitude" album.  I love the idea of finding something to be thankful for each day and taking time to notice the small things that make the days brighter.  The cover of the album is my project for this challenge.

 

I used some word stamps for the "cherish everyday moments" and some stitched heart stamps to accent the title banner.  The album is a chipboard album from Echo Park, with pull outs on the sides for journaling, photos, etc.  I used my Cricut and the Artbooking cartridge to make the round pages to fit inside the album.  The papers are from Simple Stories.

 

Our sponsor for this challenge is My Crafty Heart, and they're offering a $16 gift certificate to their store.  What a great prize!  All you have to do is link up your project to the Love to Scrap blog for a chance to win. 

 

 

Using a typewriter motif on a scrapbook page

Today on the Get It Scrapped blog, we're looking at ways to use typewriter motifs on scrapbook pages.   I know there's a whole generation (or two!) that have never used a typewriter, but back in my day, typewriters were a valuable tool.  I have fond memories of high school typing class, especially when we made the switch to IBM Selectrics - now we had the ability to change fonts, how cool!

Typewriters make me think of documents, keeping records, and nostalgia for earlier times, so it seemed like that motif was a perfect fit for this page about the census record I found of my mom and her family.

Paper & stickers:  Simple Stories; Frame: Basic Grey; wooden alphas: Studio Calico

 

When the 1940 census was released last year, it sparked my interest in genealogy, especially when I was able to find my parents and grandparents in the census records.  I used a copy of the 1940 census showing my mom, her brother, parents and grandparents as my background on this page, with a frame highlighting their names.  An old photo of my mom at around her age in 1940 was printed in black and white and trimmed with deckle edge scissors.  I added a typewriter motif that was fussy cut from patterned paper and a vintage typewriter sticker.  To make it look like there was a document in the typewriter, I cut a small slit around the roller portion of the typewriter sticker and inserted a ledger print sticker.  In keeping with the typewriter motif, I used a typewriter font rubon for the “1940″ at the top of the page, and typewriter key alpha stickers for my mom’s initials under her photo.

 

Check out the Get It Scrapped blog for more great ideas on using the typewriter motif!

Scrapping Travel Preparations @ Get It Scrapped

Most of us have scrapped pages about trips we've taken, whether they were day trips or two week vacations, but have you ever thought about scrapping your travel preparations?  That's the emphasis today at Get It Scrapped, and it gives a whole different perspective on traveling!

 

For my page, I focused on all the planning that goes into our motorcycle trips.  DH does most of the planning and he pours over maps and books and websites for weeks ahead of time to find the most scenic routes, best places to eat, and most interesting stops along the way.   I staged a couple of photos just to show some of the most-used planning tools:  atlas, books, weather apps and GPS.

 

Be sure to check out the other DT projects at Get It Scrapped.  I hope it inspires you to scrap some of your travel planning!

It's a Frosted Designs sketch challenge!

This week's challenge @ Frosted Designs is a sketch - one of my favorite types of challenges!  Here's the sketch:
:

Instead of using the sketch for a scrapbook page, I used it for a card.  (That's the great thing about sketches - they are so versatile!)  I just scaled the elements down a little bit and omitted the top banner, but kept the other elements. (papers and bingo card are from Simple Stories)

 

We'd love to see your take on the sketch.  Just link up your project to Frosted Designs for a chance to win a prize from this week's sponsor, Words or Whatever.



Got envelopes?

Today's feature at Practical Scrappers is using envelopes on your projects.  For my page, I took a coin envelope and cut it in half.  Then I inked all the edges, punch two holes in each envelope flap, threaded twine through the holes and tied a bow.  Then I tucked the cut edges under an edge of the patterned paper and used the envelopes as embellishments on my page.

PP & stickers: Simple Stories

 

Be sure to check out the other projects @ Practical Scrappers for some creative ideas on using envelopes!