For the Love of Homemade Kits--November Kit Share

For the Love of Homemade Kits: November Kit Reveal 

Happy Sunday! I am so excited to be participating again this month in the For the Love of Homemade Kits Series with Hannah Lemieux, Crafty Meggy, Sara Scraps and Felicia Young over on You Tube for another round of creating. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, this series uses a recipe of items to create a kit from our stash that is based around an inspiration piece. Then, each of us spends four weeks creating layouts and process videos from the ingredients in our kits. The idea is to start digging in our stash and use a combination of both new and old products to create some amazing layouts. Each week, you will be able to see a process video and layout from each of us on our You Tube channels using our individual kits. YAY! Click here to check out my kit share for week one of the For the Love of Homemade Kits Series: November.  The first process video will be posted on Tuesday, November 8th. 

For this round, we decided to include quite a few different things but we really enjoyed starting with a different inspiration piece starting place again this month. This month, we chose an image of a destination: New York City. 

The paper portion of this recipe includes:
1. a stripe
2. a word/text
3. a geometric
4. a specialty paper

5. a texture
6. a colored cardstock

7. a freebie pattern

8.  6x6 pieces of patterned paper

9. a cityscape

Now, for my choices....

1. Stripe: Dear Lizzy Saturday: Uptown

2. Word/Text: Illustrated Faith You Are Loved: Happy Heart

3. Geometric: WeR Memory Keepers Honey I'm Home: Family Photo

4. Texture: Dear Lizzy Saturday: Street Food

5. Specialty: Printed Vellum from Studio Calico

6. Colored Cardstock: pale grey

7. Freebie: Dear Lizzy Saturday--Skyline

8. Cityscape: Dear Lizzy Saturday: Seventh Avenue

9. 6x6: Dear Lizzy Saturday (partially used) 

I did pretty well sticking to the paper choices and including elements that I was happy with for this month. I used the cityscape patterned paper to guide the feel and color choices. But then...I got to the embellishments and definitely went a little overboard!

The embellishment portion of this recipe includes:
1. 3x4 cards

2. vellum pieces

3. buttons

4. wood veneer

5. washi tape

6. stamps

7. tags

8. stickers

9. mist (2)

10. two alphabets

11. ephemera pack

12. freebie 

Here are my choices....

1. 3x4 cards:  Heidi Swapp September Skies: Dusk

                      7paper Darcy: 007

                       Dear Lizzy Saturday: Pizza Pie 

2. vellum pieces: Project Life vellum overlays

3. buttons: Pink Paislee Paige Evans Take Me Away Buttons

4. washi tape: Simple Stories Carpe Diem Posh

5. stamps: Dear Lizzy Saturday and Pink Paislee Paige Evans Take Me Away Roller 

6. tags: 7 Gypsies Market Tags

7. stickers: Simple Stories Carpe Diem Posh

8. Mist: Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Gold and Navy

9. Alphabets: Pink Hip Kit Club exclusive

                             White Thickers "Maple" 

                              Bella Blvd. Oh My Stars: Fundamentals 

10.Ephemera Pack: Dear Lizzy Saturday

11. Freebie: Simple Stories Carpe Diem Posh: Word Label Stickers 

Here is my complete kit....

 

As you can see, I followed the recipe pretty closely this month but I included a few extra embellishments. I tend to also include a partially used 6x6 paper pad rather than just a few sheets as I enjoy creating lots of layers with different patterns. I am also giving myself the freedom and permission to add some mixed media elements like additional mists and texture paste if needed in order to complete the looks or use the elements that I chose. I find that I need to include enough variety so that I don't get sick of my kit but also limit myself enough that I am productive and focused. It's a balance, right?! 

I hope that you will use this recipe to put together your own kit and I would love to see what you create if you are playing along with us. Make sure to stop by and check out my You Tube video showing my kit and then head on over to see the kits that Hannah, Felicia, Sara, and Megan put together as well. It is going to be a really fun month! Happy Crafting!!

Stick It Down--November Sketch Challenge

Happy Saturday! Welcome back to another month of sketches at Stick It Down. This month we are playing with a really fun sketch to use when you have LOADS of pictures, especially those pictures that you have taken at a distance. Here is the sketch that we are using this month...

When I started thinking about what to create with this sketch, I remembered a recent trip that we had taken to a new aquarium that was just built in our hometown. I had taken a lot of pictures of sharks, fish, and all kinds of sea life and I thought that this layout would be perfect to showcase those photos.

I decided to expand the center portion of this layout out and increase the size of the title to a really bold font that would show the name of the new aquarium. I then printed all of my photos at home using a template from the Project Life app where I put six 2x2 photos onto one 4x6 photo grid and then printed. Super simple and one of my favorite resizing tools! 

I hope that you enjoyed this layout and that you will stop over on my You Tube channel and check out the process video that goes with it! You can get to that video by clicking here. Please consider subscribing so that you don't miss out on those notifications for new videos! Make sure to stop over at the Stick It Down blog as well and check out what the rest of the team created with this sketch and to share a layout that you create with this sketch as well. Happy Crafting!!

SpiegelMom Scraps November Blog Hop

Welcome! You should have hopped on over here after viewing Hannah's amazing page! I loved all of her details, layers, and embellishments. This month at SpiegelMom Scraps we are working with the theme of "Cozy Up and Create" and I can't wait to share what we have in store for you throughout the month!!

I cannot believe it is November 1st already! It seems like the stores are already into Christmas mode and here in Arizona, the weather is just NOT screaming Autumn. This week, we have been in the high 90's every day and I am definitely ready for cooler weather, cozy fires, and the joys of fall to begin.

For this project, I worked with a photo of my daughter and her favorite cuddly blanket. There is nothing cozier to me than cuddling up with a warm, fuzzy blanket and my kids have caught that same love!

I started off pulling out some pieces from the Simple Stories Reset Girl collection because I knew I wanted to use fall colors to tone down this super bright and colorful picture. I also knew that I wanted to use mint green as the main color in the layout with some pink and coral accents. I smeared the Dazzlerz on the background paper to create a shelf for my photo and then just kept adding layers and embellishments.  The finishing touch is almost always sequins for me these days!! 

I really love how well the Reset Girl collection pairs up with my older Crate Paper Wonder alphabet as well as some of the ephemera from the new Maggie Holmes Gather collection. I even threw in an old Maggie Holmes roller phrase stamp. I just love mixing new and old collections to create unique looks!  

From the SpiegelMom Scraps store, I used the following products for this project:
   Sea U in the Mornin' Shimmerz Dazzlerz (here)
   Normandy Doilies 4 inch size (here)
   Mocha Mint Dream Sequin Mix (here)
 
I hope that you enjoyed this cozy layout and now you are off to check out the amazing layers and details from Sara Scraps! Enjoy the rest of the hop and make sure to enter to win this month's prize! Happy Crafting!!!

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge--Ribbon, Sparkle, Shine

Happy Thursday and welcome back for another C.R.A.F.T. Challenge! I loved seeing all of the Christmas creations last week and this week's theme could be used to continue creating with your Christmas projects or to create something entirely different. This week, we are working with adding ribbon, sparkle, or shine to our projects. As always, quick and easy are the two main factors that I am thinking about as I approach my card designs. This week, I tried out some Jillibean Soup Card Sets where you can purchase the cards with an opening that fits a plastic shaker pocket. Everything coordinates in the sets already and they really do save a lot of time.

In order to create this look, I filled the plastic cloud piece with sequins and beads and then attached it to the interior of the card. I then inked the edges of the opening that would show on the front of the card and added a couple of felt clouds (and a heart) from the SpiegelMom Scraps store which is my favorite place to go to pick up sequins, felt pieces, Shimmerz products, and little embellishments. (Hint, Hint: Make sure to use the code Khristina15 if you are going to do any fun shopping over there!!)

Next, I hand stitched some rows of sequins to look like rain drops falling from my shaker box cloud. I used some letter stickers on the bottom to create a sediment and I was done. Quick...easy...fun...just my favorite way to create cards! I hope that you will hop back over and check out the projects from the rest of the design team this week and that you are will create your own project using ribbon, sparkle, or shine and share it with us over there! Happy Crafting!!!

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge--Christmas

Happy Thursday and welcome back to another C.R.A.F.T. Challenge of the week! This week, we have been challenged to create with a Christmas theme. Are you making your Christmas cards this year? Have you started creating them yet? I love to make my own Christmas cards but it always seems like such a daunting task. Today, I am sharing a quick and easy design that is sure to make your family and friends think that you put in hours of work!

The key...I am using a cut file. I took a cut file from The Cut Shoppe and decreased it in size so that it would be perfect for the front panel of a card. I then backed it with different Christmas themed patterned papers from Prima's collection called Sweet Peppermint. I then added some gold thread behind a sediment out of the Carta Bella Christmas Delivery ephemera pack. I used my distress ink in Vintage Photo to tie all of the pieces together and add to the vintage charm feel of the patterned papers. Using that cut file, this was actually a quick and easy look to create and I just love how it turned out. Make sure to visit the C.R.A.F.T. blog to check out the cards that the rest of the design team created this week. Also, make sure to share your Christmas creation with us! Happy Crafting!!

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge--Trifold Card with Tag Insert

Happy Thursday and welcome back to another week of C.R.A.F.T. Challenges! This week, we have been challenged to create a trifold card with a tag insert. There are several different ways and styles to create a trifold card so you have lots of fun choices this week! Below, you will see the project that I have created for this week.

As always, I love cards that quick, easy, and impactful! This week, I worked with some black cardstock for my card base. I then used the Pink Paislee C'est La Vie collection to embellishment my card. I wanted to create a fun pocket card that would hold not only the tag on the inside but also a gift card. I used some washi tape with an "xoxo" pattern to emphasize my folds and then added a Maggie Holmes chipboard "Hello Love" sentiment to the front. The cork and gold glitter heart embellishments are also from the C'est La Vie collection as is the patterned paper pocket on the inside of the card. This card was pretty quick to put together and I can't wait to send it off to a friend!

I hope that you feel inspired to create a trifold card with a tag insert this week. Make sure to click back over to the C.R.A.F.T. Challenge blog to check out the amazing work from the rest of the design team and to link us up a project of your own so we can send you some love! Happy Crafting!!

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge--Inspiration Picture

Happy Thursday and welcome to another week of C.R.A.F.T. Challenges. This week, we have been challenged with an inspiration picture to guide our project creations. The picture below is the one that we were challenged to use this week:

As is my typical, I want my card creations to be quick, easy, and impactful! I pulled out a 6x6 paper pad and cut six different squares of patterned papers in colors that went well with the inspiration photo above. I then inked all of the edges with my Tim Holtz Vintage Photo distress ink.

I pulled out a die cut leaf from the Maggie Holmes Gather ephemera pack and also inked the edge of it with the same distress ink. Lastly, I grabbed a sentiment sticker from Simple Stories and inked the edges. I placed 3D adhesive behind the leaf and sediment in order to make them dimensional and I was done!

Quick, simple, and impactful. My favorite! I hope that you will visit the C.R.A.F.T. Challenge blog to check out the projects from the rest of the design team and to leave us a link to a project that you create based upon the inspiration photo. Happy Crafting!