Wednesday's challenge for the SBCH crop!

Today I'm hosting the May challenge over at Scrapbooker's Club House.

Your challenge is to create a Mother's Day card or altered item using the following FIVE embellishments: (one of each): brad, flower, chipboard, heart, paint. The paint can be used ON one of the embellishments if you wish or you can group only TWO of them together (e.g. a chipboard heart).

Here's my inspiration piece. I made a cupcake card that says "You're the sweetest" on the inside. The entire card was hand cut (no template). I used a Starbuck's sleeve for the bottom of the cupcake and hand cut the top of the cupcake out of Chatterbox paper. I ran the paper through the Cuttlebug and used paint all over to accent the edges of the paper and the embossed surface. I used a prima flower as the cherry and added a punch to the center. I added some red and pink Stickles for bling. The chipboard heart was covered in paper and attached with a brad to the bottom. I added some sheer ribbon to finish it off.

Make and Take Tuesday!

This is a card I made as a sample for a make and take for the Scrapbooker's Club House crop. The owl template came from here: Brenda Pinnick. The papers are all My Mind's Eye from January's SBCH kit. The oval stamp is from Oriental Trading. The saying is from Inkadinkado . I stamped the wings on some felt and cut them out. I used some Prima flowers for the first layer of the eyes, then I used a white punch out and a button to finish it off. I finished the owl with some fiber and some rick rack.

For the directions be sure to stop by the on line crop forum at Scrapbooker's Club House!

A Valentine's Day card to share

Valerie Salmon asked me to do a Valetine's day card for her most recent sketch. This is my interpretation of sketch #46.

Papers are all Scenic Route Loveland line. I used a chipboard heart cut on my Cuttlebug. The other hearts are hand cut out of the SR paper. TFL!

Monday's crop challenges are here!!

As you may or may not know, the theme of the week long crop at Scrapbooker's Club House (SBCH) is Cropping Through the Year. We have lots of fun challenges in store!

It's Monday and we're kicking it off today with the January and February challenges.

Your January challenge is to create a winter themed layout using at least ONE snowflake and one bling. You can do a winter layout, a New Year's layout or even a Christmas layout but you should stick to a winter theme for this challenge. I thought outside the box on this one and did a vacation layout called Winter.....Mexico style. All the papers, stickers and chipboard letters are KI Memories, scalloped paper DCWV, the large snowflake is cut from my sizzix die and the bling rhinestone is from Dollerama.

Here's your inspiration for this challenge:

Now that you're all warmed up, the February challenge is to create a card using TWO patterned papers from TWO different manufacturer's and TWO hearts. Here's my inspiration piece for you. I used Cloud Nine designs papers and Scenic Route. The hearts are cut from the Scenic route paper. I added some flocking and some Stickles to accent the hearts. The stamp is Fancy Pants and added some bling. The scallops was actually from some bath bombs I got for Christmas.

I'd love to see your take on these challenges......be sure to stop by the Online Crop forum at SBCH!

Are you ready?!?!?!

Be sure to pop on over to the week long on-line crop at Scrapbooker's Club House.

It starts Monday and there's loads of challenges, make and takes and fun to be had. Oh yeah, there's even some prizes!!

I'll be kicking it off with two challenges tomorrow so get ready.......

Born to Skate layout

Supplies: MM Noteworthy papers and die cuts, felt snowflakes, glitter chipboard alpha (dollarstore), rub ons (7 gypsies), mini alpha EK Success, font "Typewriter"

Journalling reads: When I see this picture of me taken in the 70s at Nathan Phillip's Square in Toronto, it reminds me that I practically grew up on the ice. I started figure skating lessons at the Woodstock Figure Skating Club when I was in the first grade and continued skating well into my teens. There were years of lessons, passing tests (or trying to) and yearly carnivals to fill my after school time. In my late 20s/early 30s, skating became part of my life again when I rediscovered the joy of skating by taking some adult refresher lessons and I even taught preschool ice skating for the city of Mississauga for two years. I just *LOVE* everything about skating. It makes you feel free and like you're floating on air. I love the sounds of my blades on the ice, the smell of the cold and the freedom I feel gliding across a freshly flooded patch of the ice. I was BORN to skate.

One sketch, two looks

I was thrilled when Valerie Salmon asked me to do a sample for her "Got Sketch" blog.

I created these two layouts with the same sketch.

Christmas Cuties materials: Paper, stickers: SandyLion (Kelli Panacci), buttons, Flair number stickers, Making Memories mini alpha stickers.

Red Rocks Materials: Papers: Paper Trunk Batik collection, Crafter's Workshop template, 7 Gyspies stamp, Tin Box creations alphabet stamps, Fancy Pants felt.

If I could turn back time layout

I was digging through my photos last week and came across this photo of my grandparents. As soon as I saw it, I thought immediately of the Websters Pages papers from my stash.

Papers and stickers: Websters Pages Stamps: Inque boutique stamps: 50439 Mini Cupcake alphabet, 50469 Mini Magestic Flight, 50339 It's about Time

Other: lace, Prima flowers, buttons, decorative paper clips

I stamped flourishes and Remember stamps directly on the photo with Staz On Ink. I stamped various clocks onto some blue floral paper and cut them out to place around the photo. I used letter stamps for the "turn back" part of the title and the "time" is from the It's about time stamp set. I added some clock hands from the set to the title block. I also hand cut some flowers out of one sheet of paper to add around the photo. Added lots of buttons and a strip of lace across the bottom. The journalling is hidden behind the title block and pulls down with the vintage paper clips.

A card and an altered box

On the weekend, I pulled out some of my old Basic Grey Lily Kate paper to make this altered box for one of the Scrapbooker's Club House January challenges. I'm using the box to hold all my glues on my desk. With the scraps, I also did up this card and added some Fancy Pants 12 x 12 stamps to jazz it up.

Reveal day! February's SBCH kit layouts

February's kit at Scrapbooker's Club House features Cloud Nine Designs papers and embellishments from the Chocolate Chalet collection.

The colours in this kit were so fun to work with and the stickers and epoxy embellishments are so cute! Here's a quick look at the three layouts, one altered item and set of cards that I completed with this fun kit. Be sure to orders yours today!

A few layouts to share

Here's the first of several layouts that I worked on last week and finally was able to take photos of.

Both layouts used up some old Scraptivity Kits that I've had lying around.

The first layout (Life with Brian):

Papers, Life die cut and chipboard letters: Cosmo Cricket Wanted line

Chipboard postcard: Walnut Hollow

Mini stickers: Carolee's Creations

Paper Clip: Dollarama

The second layout (Love the Moment):

Papers: Cherry Arte Morrocco

Felt: Fancy Pants

Letters: foam from Dollarama

Chipboard Heidi Swapp

Other: Cinnamon stickles

Stay tuned for more projects!

I've been very busying creating this week. In fact I've finished more layouts and projects since the first of January than I have for the entire months of November AND December!

The only problem is, due to old man winter, it isn't light enough to take photos either in the morning or when I get home from work, so this weekend I'll be busy getting all those pictures ready for posting.

Also, don't forget it's reveal day on January 15th for the SBCH January kit. It's a fun one, you'll be on Cloud Nine when you see all the fun colours in it ;)

My review of Tim Holtz's Crackle Paint

Since Suzanne asked in her comment what I thought about the crackle paint I'll give you a bit of a review.

I do like the product. It's an all-in-one paint. All you do is open the jar and it has a brush thingy inside kind of like a nail polish bottle. It's all ready to start painting.

I find it REALLY thick and hard to spread around. I ended up glooping some of it onto my chipboard and then spreading it around. I didn't go too thick but you need a decent amount of product. If you have a few large pieces to do the whole bottle will be gone.

Then after it dries, you can rub ink into the item to make the cracks stand out. The colours were made to be used with the corresponding TH distressing inks but I used some of my stamping ink and it worked fine.

I also tried using it on cardstock with a Heidi Swapp mask. It actually worked BUT you can't really see the crackling that much and it makes the paper warp.

I'm anxious to try this on the new grungeboard bc even regular raw chipboard seems to warp a bit from the moisture.

So anyways, I think it's a decent product but since I don't really to that much vintage stuff I don't think I'll be getting a ton of this. I have regular crackle medium at home that I can use with my bazzillon bottles of paint. I might pick up a brown one but that's it.

If you want to get ONE to try I would recommend the ivory or white looking ones like I used in the card below bc you can change the colour with inks.

Thanks for listening to me ramble!

A vintage birthday card

I tried out my newish Tim Holtz crackle paint this weekend on a chipboard star. After the paint dried I rubbed some distressing ink into the cracks and around the edges. To really distress the star I also used some sandpaper on the edges.

I decided to make a vintage birthday card out of the star so I added a rub on and created this card using some papers I picked up in a package at Dollarama. The colours and papers turned out to be absolutely perfect! I finished it off with some buttons and lace.

If you haven't tried the TH paint yet, it is easy to use. I want to pick up a few more colours for my collection.

Scrapping up a storm this weekend!

I've been busying in my scrapbook room this weekend working on my January DT kit for Scrapbooker's Club House as well as working on some of my own scrapping.

Here's a layout for my honeymoon album.

Paper: DCWV (cardstock), Amy Butler K and Co (print), mini letters: Carolee's creations, foam letters: Dollarama.

Techniques: hand cut the designs out of pp. Added a black border to the outside of the layout with a regular black pen.

Come participate in the Member's scrapping marathon at Secret Scrapper!

This month at Secret Scrapper, they are having a member's scrap-a-ton. You have the entire month of January to complete any of the 30+ challenges posted here.

Why not start the year off with a bang and gets lots of projects done? You can also win some great prizes :)

This the sample card I made for the ric rack challenge I provided for the member challenge. The paper is MM and Chatterbox. The rub on is Basic Grey and the hearts are stamped from the new Fancy Pants 12 x 12 Fresh Mod stamps.

The January project sheet is now available at SheetLoad of Cards, check it out!

Be sure to check out the new January project sheet at SheetLoad of cards. Great design this month. I am in need of some birthday cards for my stash so I know I'll be putting this pattern to good use! I'll post my creations when I'm finished.

And here's my interpretation of my sketch

And here's my interpretation of my own sketch. I had to improvise and take artistic licence wit the sketch because my title wouldn't fit!

I used the absolutely GORGEOUS MM Noteworthy papers and die cuts, Fancy Pants felt swirl, EK success mini letters and Martha Stewart glitter letters.

A January Sketch Challenge for SBCH

Well, this is the first ever sketch I've created (using Photoshop) for my January DT challenge at Scrapbookers' Club House. I hope you like it!

Feel free to post your interpretation of the sketch here, I'd LOVE to see it!