COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

This is my latest project for Use Your Stuff where we were to create a project using at least three different types of leaves.  One of my favorite pictures taken on my daughter's Homecoming dance night was this one.  This girl has been a rock for my daughter.  She's a girl of few words, but she is always there for her whether it be for soccer encouragement, helping her get to class while she navigates the high school halls with a mammoth leg cast, or homework help.  She is definitely a blessing to our family.  With the colors of the picture, I thought it would be perfect for a fall themed page.  My leaves come in a variety of forms ranging from patterned paper, gift tags that I repurposed as embellishments, and paper leaves.  I was inspired by this sketch from my former design team "2 Broke Girls" to pull this project together.

MY PUMPKIN

This is my latest project for Sketches in Thyme using the following sketch.  My daughter loves to play around with Snapchat filter.  Last year, she took a series of Halloween themed ones wearing Harry Potter glasses.  I loved them so much that I thought they would be perfect for a three picture layout, especially since I had exactly three pictures from her "photoshoot."  To pull this project together, I used a variety of Fancy Pants paper from the "Howl" collection.

GOAL

This is my latest project for Creative Inspiration.  I was in charge of this month's Technique, Tips, & Tricks tutorial.  I decided to create my own sheet of patterned paper for my technique.  My daughter's soccer team is blue and white, but I often have problems finding soccer themed papers that have her exact color of blue.  So I decided to make my own.  I punched out hexagon shapes and taped them using masking tape to a piece of white cardstock in various spots.  I took a black ink pad and dabbed various layers across the paper.  Once I was done with that, I took the hexagons off and using a toothbrush, I flecked blue paint all over the paper.  When the blue paint dried, I secured the paper to the layout.  It was as easy as that, and I finally have a piece of soccer themed paper that matches my daughter's school colors.  When putting this project together, I used the Creative Inspiration Sunday October 14 sketch as a guide.

PUMPKIN CARVING

This is my latest project for Use Your Stuff where we were to make a project with a pumpkin theme.  I love to scrap Halloween anything!  So I knew exactly what I wanted to do for my pumpkin project.  These are pics of my girls when they were tiny carving their pumpkins.  They always took the task so seriously.  Although my youngest was a bit squeamish digging out pumpkin guts; notice the rubber gloves...  To pull this project together, I used a variety of Halloween themed paper from American Craft along with a sketch from my former design team "2 Broke Girls."

TWINS

This is my latest project for Creative Inspiration using the following sketch.  A month ago, my daughter broke her left tibia in a soccer game.  She has faced the challenges of intense pain and a cast up to her thigh like a warrior.  With all the physical heartache my daughter has endured in the past month, good has emerged.  So many people have rallied around her.  So many good vibes have been sent her way.  And one of the most compassionate acts she's experienced was from her Homecoming date.  Her date did a cute "proposal" a week before she broke her leg (a future layout...).  When the bone was being set the day of the accident, we jokingly told the doctors, "Make sure you match her cast to her homecoming dress."  She came out of the casting room with a black and red cast to match her homecoming dress and shoes!  Fast forward to the night of the Homecoming dance, my daughter and her date were sitting down for a picture, he lifted up his pants to show us his matching red and black socks!  It was truly one of the most heartwarming things I have ever seen.  What an amazing young man to go the extra mile to help my daughter feel a little more comfortable the night of the dance. To pull this project together, I used a variety of red and black papers with flecks of gold to give the project an elegant feel.  My favorite touch (a subtle one) is the black netting paper that looks like cast tape that I placed diagonally under the patterned papers.  

SALEM

This is my latest project for Creative Inspiration using the following sketch.  Back in June, my cousin and I took a girl's trip to Massachusetts.  We definitely wanted to see Boston, but what we really wanted to do was tour Salem, Massachusetts.  As a history teacher, seeing the place where the Salem Witch Trials took place was definitely a bucket list item.  As I was researching the city, I also wanted to check out a store called "Hauswitch."  The owner of Hauswitch , Erica Feldman, had written a book featured in my local newspaper, and I wanted to see it for myself.  While I found the contents of her store intriguing, what I loved most about her story is how she made her dream of an interior design studio with a witchy vibe a reality in the creation of this store.  Hauswitch is proof that if you dream it, it can happen.  So this is a picture of me in Salem standing in front of the store I travelled over 860 miles to see!  To pull this project together, I used a variety of papers from Authentique's "Nightfall" collection so that I thought gave a kitschy, witchy vibe.

WHEN WE HAVE EACH OTHER...

This is my latest project for Sketchy Board Challenges using the following sketch.  I was totally inspired by the gears and decided to create a project with a mechanical theme.  I had another picture in mind at first, but then I found this one in my stash and knew it was perfect.  My daughter had just gotten her convertible, and not only did she love cruising around in it, so did her sister and her dog.  I knew it would be the perfect centerpiece for this sketch.  To pull this project together, I used a variety of papers from Kaisercraft's "Workshop" collection.  The cardstock gears came from an Etsy store while the smaller ones were purchased at the Hobby Lobby.