Into The Woods with PI

It's New Issue Monday at Paper Issues. This month's issue is "Into The Woods", which encompasses many fun themes: wood veneer, camping, outdoors, woodland creatures, etc. I chose some photos from my daughter's week at camp last year. I started with the new, fabulous Cocoa Vanilla Totally Rad collection. The embellishment pack has wood veneer, acetate stars, and a blue and white twine that I love. The patterned paper (Say What) is the perfect neutral for the colorful elements on the layout.

I colored some of the wood veneer with Distress markers so that the wood-grain would still show. To adhere the acetate elements, I used Ranger's Multi Medium Matte. The colored tags are from Fancy Pants Attwell collection. I love the blue and green color combination; it reminds me of summer days! To see more lovely inspiration for this issue, be sure to check out the Paper Issues blog here. There's still quite a bit of Cocoa Vanilla in the shop - grab it while you can! For 20% off your entire purchase, use discount code, "sherry20".

Sweet Summertime

Hello, friends! My blog has been a little neglected because of house projects, vacation, etc., but now I'm back and ready to create! I enrolled in Gossamer Blue's Pretty Paper class because I fell in love with the kit being offered. The paper and stamps are AMAZING! As I was editing some vacation photos, I realized some of them were a perfect match for the kit, so I got busy creating. :)

I knew I wanted this layout to be clean and photo-focused, so I opted for a classic grid pattern. To make the patterned paper stretch, I cut strips instead of mounting the photos on it. To make the title pop, I used Zing embossing powder - I love how it gives subtle dimension and color contrast. I love this clean, fresh and beach-y layout, sometimes less is more and this is the perfect example. If you're interested in the process, I have a YouTube video of this layout here.

Now that camps and vacation are over, it's time to kick back and enjoy the dog days of summer! Thank you for stopping by my blog. xo

Monochromatic Challenge

Today's Scrap Your Stash Challenge at Two Peas was to use a monochromatic color scheme. Luckily, I also received Cocoa Daisy's July kits in the mail today so I didn't have to go searching for products. I selected blue as my color, based on my photos, and let my creativity run wild. I started with Elle's Studio Saltwater paper (endless summer) because of the blue text. I mixed Golden Fluid Acrylic paint (Cerulean Blue Chromium) with Golden Gel Medium (Soft Gel Gloss), and a little water to thin it down. I painted directly on the patterned paper to create my background for my photos. A Jenni Bowlin paint dauber was used to add color to the jillibean soup corrugated alphas. I then used Martha Stewart glitter and gel medium to give the letters a little more sparkle.

My Silhouette Cameo was used to cut out first and a Silhouette Sketch Pen was used for our. Glossy Accents was used to glue down the Dew Drops. The stamps from Cocoa Daisy's July kit were stamped onto vellum and heat-embossed with Zing (of course!) and I used foam dots to create dimension. Finally, I used StazOn, Gelatos, and paint to color the Studio Calico cork embellishments.

There you have it. Who knew a monochromatic color challenge would lead into so many fun techniques?! You cannot believe the mess I have created from just one layout! I'm going to grab a little snack and clean up so I don't have to face it in the morning. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Zany for Zing!

If you know me at all, you know my current obsession is Zing Embossing Powder. I love all the gorgeous colors and the fun dimension it adds to a layout. When I saw the Crate Paper's Carousel, I knew I wanted to jazz it up a little with Zing. I simply traced the lines of the chevron pattern with my Zig Emboss Writer and used 11 colors of Zing (my personal record on a layout!) to match the colors on the paper.

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I cut the words from Crate Paper's Splash to border the chevron paper. I then machine-stitched to add some texture & interest to the layout. It still needed a little something, so I used Cocoa Daisy's Confetti stamp and Zing (Butter) to create a subtle background for the layout. This layout is special to me because I used to love eating watermelon with my mom, out by our pool - the tradition continues! ♥

Summer Fresh = Summer Fun

I started scrapping July 4th, 2011 photos last year but never finished them. I just couldn't get into a groove, but it's all good because along came the Summer Fresh collection from Simple Stories along with Cocoa Daisy's June kit. ♥ This collection captures the essence of my photos with it's simple, fun designs with a homespun feel. The first two layouts are a mishmosh of My Mind's Eye, Jenni Bowlin, Studio Calico...

The following layout was created from the 6/24/12 Sunday Sketch at www.StudioCalico.com. I used a blank tag and embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. I then used Distress Ink to highlight the stars. I think it's my favorite thing on the layout!

I love using WRMK divided page protectors. It's a great way to add lots of photos with touches of scrappy products.

It was such a beautiful day -- we had just set up for lunch outside and a huge thunderstorm came rolling through (of course.) We opened up the barn and took the party inside. You may think the fireworks pics are from our local show but you would be mistaken -- yes, my dear husband is responsible for the pyrotechnic extravaganza! Here's to waiting a whole year to finish a group of photos. Thank you, Simple Stories, for coming to my rescue. Wishing you all a fun-filled summer!