Birds of a Feather

Once the weather gets warm I find myself totally forgetting to blog.  Or maybe because our warm months are so darn short I am spending as much time as possible enjoying it.  Either way, I need to make a habit of taking time in the evening to sit down and share.

This layout was so much fun because I totally created the background paper.  I took a very light blue piece of cardstock and some white Gesso and with a stipple brush, and created some clouds.  

I then took 2 colours of Distress Oxide Ink from Ranger, Broken China, and Mermaid Lagoon, and using their round sponge brush I filled in most of the background. leaving the clouds to peek through.  The last step was to sprinkle a little bit of water.  I was so happy with how it turned out!!!

To add a bit of colour I added some patterned paper to the left side.

I have been eyeing this Paige Taylor Evans cut file from Silhouette for a few months.  But I just wasn't sure how I would use it.  But after going through my photos and picking the photo that I used, and coming up with a title, I knew these birds would be perfect.  I just cut the cut file apart and picked a few of the birds.  I then backed them with bright coloured paper.

Another thing I have started doing when I create is to use at least 2 older things from my stash.

It is getting way too huge and I really need to buy less and use older stuff. 

So on this layout, I used some doilies from my stash and some brads.  Who doesn't have a ton of brads they have never used!!!

Everything else was pretty straightforward.  It is such a bright fun layout and the photo taken by 

Kelsie Kelly Photograper is such a beautiful photo of my 2 oldest granddaughters

Taylor and Blake. 

The Collection that was used for this layout is Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd.

Thanks so much for dropping by!!!  ~Cathryn

Little Cotton Rabbits - I am in Love!!!!

Yes, it is true......I have a new love in my life LOL

And it is not what anyone would expect!!!!   For Easter this year I wanted to make something special for my three beautiful granddaughters.  So off I went to search Pinterest for ideas.  I came across a company called Little Cotton Rabbits.  And these sweet little knitted creatures stole my heart.

Thankfully there were patterns that I could purchase through Raverly.com

These little bunnies are adorable and very detailed.  They did take longer to create that I expected, but the end result was well worth the time.

The girls loved them.  And because the dresses are removable, I can make a whole wardrobe for them.  I have since made a sweet little bear, and can't wait to create a whole family of these beauties.  Bunnies, bears, pigs, foxes, cats.......so many to create!!!!

And I will make sure to share them all, here on my blog!!!!

Thanks to Kelsie Kelly Photographer for the gorgeous photos!!!

Thanks for visiting!!  ~Cathryn

Rainbows Rainbows and more Rainbows!!!

I have had so much going on in my life lately that I am a week late in getting this post up.  

Last week my challenge RAINBOWS was up on The Paper Girls Challenge Blog 

And let me tell you it was also a huge challenge for me.  I usually am most comfortable creating with a few limited colours.  And usually  not bright colours.  But I love to challenge myself.

And I love seeing all the amazing creations from the other very talented Paper Girls.  This challenge also featured a super talented guest designer,  Marty McGee. Please check her out, you won't be disappointed!!!

So for this challenge I wanted to really explore many different ways to create lots of colour.

First I tackled a 12x12" layout.

On the day I created this layout I had stopped at a Hardware Store to pick up a few supplies to create a poured paint canvas.  And while walking past the paint chips I thought what better way to add a rainbow of colour?  

Once I chose a gorgeous cut file from the Silhouette Cameo Store by Paige Taylor Evans, the rest came together very quickly.  Well......although I can't say backing all of those tiny little hearts was fast it was very enjoyable and relaxing......if you are a fan of fussy cutting!!  And I am.

Here is the end result.

I love so much about this layout.  The photo of my oldest granddaughter Blake always makes me smile.  And that quote was just perfect!!!  Because I chose to mount the cut file on white cardstock, I also decided to give it a whimsical light outline with a few black hearts. Such a simple  thing to add but it really makes a huge difference.

I next wanted to try a Rainbow of colours using Water Colour Paints.  So I pulled out some Jane Davenport Watercolours,  MY FAVOURITE!!!!   Using the packaging technique I added some colour, and that was it really.  If you want to make a beautiful card that is super fast, this is the way to  go.  I added a rub-on, and a simple sentiment inside and that was it.  Easy peasy!!!

Now this last project was something that I have wanted to try for a long time.  I have been watching videos of poured painting for months.  And even then I really had no idea what the heck I was doing LOL.  But I gave it a try.  And although it didn't go totally as planned, the outcome was pretty good I think.  Once it was completely dry, I collaborated with Miss Blake and we came up with the idea to add a quote, and some clouds that I cut on my Silhouette Cameo.  I must say that mixing paint and pouring it is a messy business.  But SO MUCH FUN!!!!!  I know that I will be giving it a try again.

I want to thank my daughter for taking such beautiful photo's of my creations.  She is such an amazing super talented photographer.  Please check her out

Kelsie Kelly Photographer

I am super blessed to have many of her amazing photos to create with.

Thanks for stopping by and if you have any questions about any of the products I used or anything else, please leave a comment and/or leave a message on my Facebook page

Cat-Scrap Creations

~Cathryn

Paper Issues & Stuck Sketches

Wow I can't believe Spring is here!!!!!  Well.....according to the calendar it is here.  But unfortunately we are suppose to be getting more snow tomorrow!!!   It better stop snowing very soon or the poor Easter Bunny is going to have to hide Easter eggs in the snow LOL

The layout that I am sharing today is a Challenge from Paper Issues and Stuck Sketches.  

If you are looking for challenges, sketches, great inspiration and some fun, please check out these great blogs.  Believe me you will not be disappointed!!!!

Here is the sketch

I had a photo that I wanted to scrap, but since it was just a single photo I had to change things a bit to make this sketch work.

All in all this turned out to be a very simple and fast layout to create. Which doesn't usually happen for me.  I am a notoriously slow scrapbooker. So when a layout comes together quickly it is a nice change of pace for me.

The photo is of my youngest granddaughter Miss Avery.   She is the sweetest little nugget in the world and although she is almost 3 years old already, she has only gotten sweeter.

So here is my take on the sketch

I actually used very few embellishments on this layout.  The title

"I LOVE YOU" and the puffy sticker hearts and arrow are the only embellishments I used.  Everything else was either a cut file from my Cameo Silhouette, or flowers cut from the paper collection that I used.  Sometimes less really is more.

I also decided to do a simple black outline around the entire page, and around the photo mats and the flowers.  It was the perfect detail I think. 

Here are a few close up photo's

SUPPLY LIST

Cardstock-Bazzill

Patterned Paper-Crate Paper : Heart Day Collection

Puffy Embellishments-Pebbles

Cut Files-Silhouette Cameo

Black pen-Sharpie

Thanks so much for visiting my blog.  Please feel free to ask any questions and join my blog.

Occasionally I will have a surprise give away and for every comment your name will be entered!!

~Cathryn

Welcome Avery

Hi everyone. I hope you all had a great week.  Probably like me you are happy that the weekend is here!!!!  Today I am sharing a layout that I created for a Hip Kit Club Sketch Challenge.  

I fell in love with this sketch immediately and knew exactly the photo I wanted to use, and the paper collection that I wanted to use.

This sketch had so many possibilities.  

I chose a photo of my youngest granddaughter Avery, that was taken when she was just a few weeks old.  She looks so darn precious. And I chose the collection from Prima called

Heaven Sent.  So appropriate for this darling photo!!!

I am so in love with how this layout turned out!!!!  

I had to change the placement of my photo on the opposite side so I just flipped the sketch.

This Prima Collection is gorgeous beyond words. So soft and delicate and very vintage.

SUPPLIES

Cardstock-Bazzill

Thread-Coats

Letters-Recollections

Doilie-Unknown

Everything else-Prima : Heaven Sent Collection

I hope this sketch and my layout spark your creativity!!!  

Thanks for visiting my blog!!!

~Cathryn

Puddle Fun

Happy Monday everyone!!! I am feeling a bit sleepy today, just trying to get use to the time change.

But I did get some craft and scrap time over the weekend, and also did a complete change of the way I had all of my scrapbooking products organized. 

Up until  this past weekend, all of my embellishments were organized in bins by company.  But after spending forever just looking for a doilie that I knew I had, but could not remember what  company it was from, I decided I needed a change.  I'm hoping that I find it much easier to find what I am looking for so I can spend more time creating and less time searching!!!

Today I am sharing a layout that I created for Mercy Tiara's 27 Day Scrappy Challenge!!

You can pop onto her Facebook page and join in the challenge, and find lots of wonderful inspiration.

This March Challenge was a pretty big stretch for me LOL.  But that is sometimes a good thing.  It is so easy to get stuck in a rut, and just use colours and embellishments that you find easy to create with.  With this Challenge, I stumbled a bit and it took me longer than usual.

Christine Ethier's CHALLENGE

"As the Spring heads our way I was thinking :

1) Design a layout with a prominent diagonal element.

2) Use only pink and yellow papers but include a small touch of purple. 

3) The title should have either something about Spring or something inspirational about life.

4) Finally use two clusters of layered elements that include any mix of stickers, chipboard, enamel dots, resin shapes, or flair.

5) Have fun!!!!

I first went through my papers and my stash searching for anything purple.  Although I love the colour purple,  I find that it is difficult to work with. But I did find a few elements that I could use in my clusters.

Next I went through my Tim Holtz Distress Inks, and found that I had 2 of the new Oxide Inks that worked perfectly. Wilted Violet and Worn Lipstick. For the yellow I didn't have an Oxide but I had Squeezed Lemonade in the Distress Ink. 

I first covered my very light pink cardstock in Clear Gesso. Once that was dry, using a round sponge, I applied all 3 ink colours.  When I was happy with how it all looked I sprinkled some water, and then ran my roll of paper towel over it to quickly pick up the water and some of the ink.  I wanted it to kind of look like rain drops.  It turned out really pretty!!!!

Once my background was dry I mounted it on another piece of cardstock and then I stitched around the edges with purple thread.  Then I added my title, photo, and embellishments.

And this is the finished layout

This layout has way more colour than I ever usually use.  But, I really love how it turned out.  And I love the quote that I found. Little Taylor looks like she is not quite sure if jumping in the puddles is for her LOL.  But once she gets going she is really loving it!!!!

I haven't created my own background before with inks, but I just really love those Oxide Inks and I can't wait to get some more colours and try this technique again!!!

Here are a few close up photos.

How stinkin' adorable is that little yellow rubber boot?  So happy I found that and the Umbrella in my stash. Without doing some organizing, I'm not sure I would have found those.

SUPPLIES

Cardstock-Bazzill

Patterned Paper-Simple Stories

Ink-Tim Holtz : Distress Oxide Worn Lipstick & Wilted Violet

Tim Holtz Distress Ink Squeezed Lemonade

Doilie Diecuts- 

Flowers-Pebbles & Sassfras

Crochet Icon-Prima

Tiny Puffy Houses-AC Amy Tangerine

Rubber Boot & Umbrella-Pink Paislee

Enamel Hearts-Doodlebug

Letters-Woodgrain : Prima, Pink : AC Thickers Sunrise

I hope this layout inspires you to try something new, and to check out

Mercy Tiara's 27 Day Challenge

And remember

"Scrapbooker's don't lie

they embellish"

Thanks for stopping by...........

Cathryn

The Paper Girls Challenge Blog #147 Travel/Vacation

Wow!!!!  I am so behind on blogging.  I just noticed today that I have 3 layouts just sitting waiting to be shared.  Much better than in the past where I didn't blog because I had no crafty mojo LOL!!  Before I get into this project, I would like to invite you to check out The Paper Girls Challenge Blog and join in this challenge.

Also it is a great place to jump start your own creative mojo!!!

Their latest challenge is all about Travelling and Vacations.

Over the past few months I have finally got my poop together and started working on a Disney Vacation Album for my daughter and her family.  It's about time......especially since they have already made 2 trips, and this year they are taking a Disney Cruise.

When I started this album I really struggled because the colours that are perfect for this album are not really easy for me to create with.  But as time goes on I think I am becoming much more comfortable.  I have seen many many layouts created using the silhouette of a large Mickey Mouse head.  And always wanted to give it a try.  So this is what I came up with.

Thanks to all of the beautiful layouts on Pinterest that inspired me to try this out!!!

  

I love, love, love how this turned out!!!!!  I originally tried to do the outline of the mouse using water colour pens.  But it just didn't turn out the way I had it planned in my head.  So instead I decided to machine stitch with 3 different colours......red, black, and yellow.  Then I added some splatters with some Jane Davenport water colour brushes.  If you have never tried them, you should!!!  The colours are simply scrumptious.

Then I just added a bunch of embellishments, a large star, and an absolutely adorable photo of my 2 adorable granddaughters, Blake and Taylor.

 It really turned out better than I thought it would!!!  

SUPPLIES

Cardstock-The Paper Company

Colour-Jane Davenport : Water Colour Brushes in Lobster, Sandbar, and Shark's Eye

Star-Heidi Swapp

Camera & Blue Arrow-Studio Calico

Wood Veneer-Connoisseurs Fundamentals

All other Stickers & Chipboard-Simple Stories : Say Cheese

Mist-Dylusions : Pure Sunshine

Patterned Paper-Simple Stories

Washi Tape-Simple Stories : Say Cheese

I sure hope you enjoyed this layout and you go check out the fun on The Paper Girls Challenge Blog.

Thanks

And remember.....

"You can't use up creativity,

the more you use,

the more you have."

        ~Maya Aangelou