Nikki Sivils

The Sketch-a-Thon is going on all month over at Sketches for You.  Have you played yet?  Nikki Sivils is one of the guest designers, and she generously shared some of her fall product with the designers.  I have never worked with her product before, and I had an absolute blast with her designs.  I used every little bit of what she sent as you'll see!  Nikki gave us a sketch to work with for a layout:

First off, a layout of my niece Amy's cute kiddos in a corn maze:

For this layout, I used one of Nikki's round mats and cut out the center.  It was easy enough then to pop the pictures on the back of the mat.  I used half of that circle on the top of the layout.  The little piece of ric-rac is actually a piece that I fussy cut from a border strip.  That CUTE little beaver is also fussy cut from paper.

My next project is a card:

Do you see that bread tag?  Nikki designed those and they are called bread(less) tags.  What a cute little element.  Those buttons are great, too.  Kind of a twill fabric on top - just a perfect touch!

My last project was a mini album using my favorite go-to album, the My Creations 6x6 Memory Showcase album from CTMH.  The front and back cover are almost the same, so I am showing you the front:

Nikki makes some grat papers, don't you think? Head on over to Sketches for You , to see what the rest of the DT has done!

Items used: Nikki Sivils Tree Love papers, bread(less) tag, buttons, journaling tags, and stickers; Imaginisce Hot Rocks and i-rock tool; bulk hemp; May Arts ribbons; Fancy Pants buttons and clips TPC Studios metal; CTMH memory showcase, buttons, waxy flax, and pins

Sketch-a-Thon

Hsve you been playing at Sketches for You?  The sketch-a-thon is in full swing!  One of our very special guests is Cherie from Sassy Lil' Sketches.  For the Sketch-a-Thon, I was asked to create a page using the following sketch:

I loved this one, and here is what I came up with:

Items used: Magic Moments Level 1, My Stickease, and Cocoa Grosgrain (CTMH); Slice Design Card Fall/Back to School (Making Memories); Hot Rocks and i-Rock (Imaginisce); Double Loops Edge Punch (Martha Stewart)

Wednesday Afternoon Artwork to Share

I have a couple of cards and a layour to show you this afternoon.  My artwork will be done in spurts for awhile until I can get used to my full-time schedule and getting up so early in the morning!  I used to be a night owl getting a lot of work done into the wee hours.  I've actually gotten a lot more done today, but it's not time to reveal them yet!  (I am so thankful for scheduled posts!!)

All rightie, let's get to the good stuff and the reason you stopped by in the first place.  First up, I've got a layour for the Adornit monthly challenge.  I've been playing along for 4 or 5 months now, and I almost forgot to do this challenge!  I neglected to order the monthly page kit that Adornit puts together.  Usually I leave that out as a reminder.  (Sidebar - can you image what my craft desk really looks like with all these piles?!)

I grabbed some Adornit I had in my stash and created a layout with the theme "everyday giggles" and using the three items necessary - a rub-on, a dimensional flower, and a sticker.  Here's what I came up with:

Shane was just a year old here.  What a little blonde peanut!!  I used all Adornit for this layout except for CTMH black cardstock, a SU! rub-on, and my "so cute" from the Slice Big Kids design card.

Up next is the a card I made for Heart 2 Heart challenges.  I haven't had the chance to play for a month or so, and I really wanted to make the time this week.  It's a CTMH color challenge - NewEngland Ivy, Autumn Terracotta, and Honey.  Well, those colors are right up my alley, so I created this fall card using the circle templates from Jeanette Lynton's Wishes book.

All products used for this card are CTMH.

The last thing I want to remind you about is the Sketches for You Sketch-a-Thon.  It started today with the pre-challenges.  I posted this fall/back to school challenge using a sketch from PageMaps:

Items used: Imaginisce Apple Cider; Kraft paper; CTMH Colonial White buttons; Tim Holtz sentiment stamp; Zing Vanilla Embossing Powder; random hemp and leaf button

You have until Spetember 30th to complete this challenge, so hop on over for your chance to win a prize!

I hope you are having a grand Wednesday afternoon!  Be sure to make it your best day!!

New "Brenda's Challenges" over at Sketches for You!

Have you joined the Sketches for You community yet?  I have a group over there were I present challenges, and you have a chance to win a prize!  Here's my challenge for the month of September ~

As you can see, I've reversed the sketch. I've only used a couple of things on this layout - Fancy Pants Like Father, Like Son paper and stickers and star rub-ons from Stampin' Up. I love scrapping my handsome son!


Here is your challenge along with the requirements: 

1. Use the Page Maps sketch (interpret any way you want as long as Becky's sketch is evident) 
2. Use one photo of yourself or someone in your family 
3. Use 10 journaling words that start with the first letter of your subject's name (my son's name is Shane, so I've used 10 "s" words to describe him) 
4. You cannot combine this with any other challenge - sorry! The benefit is that you'll get another page done that focuses on this challenge. 
5. Post your challenge in the gallery as "Brenda10."

 Use all 5 requirements to be eligible for the RAK. The prize this month is a $10 gift certificate to the the marvelous online store - The Cutting Cafe. Whether you are a card maker or scrapper, you will love Regina's images and templates!

  

Hop on over to Sketches for You and join in the fun!  I can't wait to see what you do with this challenge!! 

Also here's some fun news!!  This month Sketches for You is having a Sketch-a-Thon.  There will be sketches starting on September 8th that go all the way through the month.  Nikki Sivils and Cherie from Sassy Lil Sketches will be special guests during the Sketch-a-Thon.  If you participate, you are going to have a chance to win prizes and RAKs.  I hope to see you there!!

 

 

 

Altered Tin Challenge!

I just posted a new challenge over at Sketches for You, and I'd love if you played along!  The challenge this month is to alter a tin.  You can purchase a tin at your local craft store or (and this is my favorite way to get a tin), you can wash any empty tin that had food, mints - whatever - in it and alter that!  Here's the first tin I want to show you:

I don't remember what this round tin was from, but it was in my "recycle" box! I inked it up with alcohol ink - wild plum and lettuce. I stamped the top with one of my favorite Melody Ross stamps. (If you stamp on alcohol ink, I've found Staz-On to work best.) I added some flowers, ribbon, and a hat pin - and it's done! Easy peasy and finished in less than 30 minutes.

Here's another example:

This is an empty Starbuck's mocha powder tin. It was just too perfect to throw away! I covered it with beautiful paper from Nepal. A little ribbon and a charm - another easy project in less than 30 minutes!

I challenge you to work with your supplies and cover a tin. I'll tell you a little bit about adhesives. I usually use super tape (red roll) to adhere paper. Then I cover with some sort of decoupage medium. I think Martha Stewart has a great decoupage and sealer and I use it often. However I also like paper Mod Podge. It's nice to finish off your projects with a sealer so that they are protected.

I'd like you to load your projects right in the post on Sketches for You, so that I have easy access to them. I am really excited about this prize for this challenge!!

I am going to randomly select a winner to receive a $10 gift certificate to The Cutting Cafe. The Cutting Cafe has amazing images and templates that work for cards, scrapbook pages and altered items. The winner will be able to select what they want - and $10 will go very far!!

This challenge runs through the whole month of September. you must have your project loaded by September 30th at 11:59 pm CST. I can't wait to see what you'll come up with!!

Lucky

It is cooler this morning - thank goodness!  When there's "that" feel to the air and back-to-school supplies on the shelf, I start thinking of the warm fall colors.  It felt like the perfect time to pull out one of my favorite paper packets, Grace.  Except for the Jenni Bowlin bingo card, all supplies are from CTMH.  I used the sketch by Cherie from Sassy Lil Sketches.  Be sure to play along this month for your chance to win goodies from Scrap Freak and The Cutting Cafe!

I was also very inspired by the color challenge at The Play Date Cafe!

The handmade flower is so easy!  I cut scalloped circles with my nestabilities.  I simply cut on the scallop and stacked them.  Another thing I do is paint my circles with Ranger clear rock candy crackle paint. That allows the "petals" to easily bend. Handmade flowers are the challenge over at CARDS (Create: Blog).

This card is my example for my next challenge on Sketches for You (go to the group Brenda's Challenges).  I want to see flowers and fall colors!  Hope to see you playing along!

Perfect Walk

It really was that day!  We went for a walk after dinner one night along the Rum River.  The shade on the river made for some beautiful pictures! 

I did this layout for a challenge from over at Sketches for You.  I don't often do round layouts, so this one was really fun to do!!

I used all Adornit papers from the Fern collection.  Don't you love that background sheet?!  It's so pretty!!  I cut the circles and words with my Noteworthy, Family Expression, and Think Pink cards.

Now don't forget to scroll down to take a look at the blog candy I am giving away!