Chic Tags Monthy Challenge

Happy Sunday friends,

It's time for a new monthly challenge at Chic Tags.  This month we are challenging you to "Go Green".  I loved this one, as it was so wide open for interpretation.  You could upcycle something for your project, go all out using the actual colour, or in my case simply use the word in your title, among many other interpretations I'm sure.

This photos was taken in Saskatoon last November when we took Théa to a Dance Convention she won a registration for.  The instructors were amazing, and she was pushed pretty hard; loving almost every minute of it (the Lyrical section was a little beyond her ability).  One of the instructors that weekend, just happened to be my Dance crush from So You Think You Can Dance, none other than the super talented passionately serious about the Jazz Funk genre, sweetly funny, and easy on the eyes: Mr Sean Cheesman.  At the end of the competition all the instructors lineup, and have a seat with a Sharpie to sign autographs for the students.  I was seriously jealous that Théa got to have her photo taken with him (and the sweet, and equally as talented Tap Dancer Lisa Latouche), and I didn't.

These mini icons are my favourite pieces of the last CHA collection.  I almost always use 3D foam to raise them off the page a bit.

Love these little Happy Place phrases.  Did you know that the Love Notes collection has some almost identical tags that are currently on clearance for only $1.40 USD per package.  There are in fact, A LOT of awesome tags on clearance.  Some as low as $1 USD.  Hop over here to check them out. (the flair I've used is one of Shelley's fab creations at {aflairforbuttons}.

I will forever treasure this tweet that Mr. Cheesman himself replied to promising that 'next time' I'll get to be the one in the photo with him.  I used two mini icons glued back to back to allow me to retrieve the tweet photo from the pocket behind the main photo.

This challenge presented the perfect opportunity for me to scrap this photo.  Have you got your wheels churning yet?  If you'd like a few more examples of how the DT interpreted the challenge hop over to the Chic Tags blog post.  I would love to see you link up your own version for a chance at Chic Tags grab bag.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend friends! Pin It

The Love Affair Continues

I'm excited to be able to announce that I will be staying on with what has become my second home in the scrappy world.

Chic Tags has announced the new & returning design team today, and my name is on the list.  I feel blessed to be able to stay on and keep inspiring you all with their fun and trendy tags, stamps and papers.  Hop over to the blog see the full list of designers.

Here is my latest creation using their fun products.

A little photo shoot the Isabelle and Théa had together, produced these really cute photos.

The flair is from A Flair For Buttons Etsy shop.

Be sure to check the Chic Tags blog on Monday, as I will have a new Silhouette Cameo/Chic Tags project to share with you.

Thanks for popping by today friends! Pin It

Lucky

Hey friends,

Just popping in to share a post I had up on the Paper Issues Blog earlier this week.

This is the first time in a long time that I have mixed so many different manufactures on one layout. Everything went together so nicely, it was actually pretty easy.  A little American Crafts, some Pink Paislee, and of course Fancy Pants designs compliment each other well.

I count my blessings to have such great scrappy friends in my life.  I know that I am lucky to be able to share my love for this hobby with women who get the excitement of pretty paper, and fun new embellishments.

The feather cut file is from the Silhouette store.

Flo, Tara, and I have developed a habit of PL nights every few months.  One of us hosts, and provides supper, and we scrap well into the evening.  On this occasion the dogs also came along for a little one-on-one time.

I just love this Amy Tangerine embroidery stencil.  It is a fun and easy way o add visual interest to your page.

The "lucky" cut file was a freebie by Kerri Bradford.  

To create an ombre effect I used 2 colours of embroidery thread to complete my stitched chevron.  I've hidden the journal on a tag inside the envelope.  It reads "How lucky I am to have so many wonderful women in my life who enjoy scrapping the way I do.  Flo, Tara & I have had fun hosting PL night b/twn us.  Girls, dogs, food, and fun.  What could be better?

Have you been looking for these Studio Calico Veneer stars?  Cassie at Paper Issues was able to get her hands on more of these.  They are once again available in the store.  I have a feeling they won't be around for long so you won't want to wait.  Remember you can use my code SHERRI for 20% off your order anytime.  You can see the latest additions to the store right here.

Thanks for stopping by today friends!

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Sunday Sketch

This girl is my favourite superhero, and also the subject of this week's Chic Tags sketch challenge.

Théa was so funny this one afternoon when I picked her up from school.  She went running ahead of me, abruptly stopped just beside the vehicle and struck these "Super Hero" poses.  Of course I had to make her do it all over again, stopping in between so I could snap a few photos to document her quirkiness.

I just love the Crisp Air patterned paper.  I looks so authentically water coloured.  Veronica really knocked it out of the park with this one.  I have tried my hand at water colour with no success and this is a great way to cheat at getting that look.

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the word Superhero, out of a scrap piece of Carta Bella Christmas paper.  I thought the stars were perfect for the layout.  I offset it with a scrap piece of orange cardstock, so it could be better seen against the vellum covered Bliss patterned paper.

Here is the great sketch that Ashley created for us.

You can see that I stayed pretty true to the original sketch, making only a few minor alterations.  I hope you'll play along with us this week.  Linking up could win you a Chic Tags grab bag.  And remember you DO NOT have to use Chic Tags product to play, we love to see how you use our product, but don't want that to keep you from being able to link up with us.  Hop over to the Chic Tags blog to link up, and also to see how some of the other DT used the sketch. Pin It

Creative Scrappers Reveal

Another great sketch to reveal to you today.  

Here is the Creative Scrappers sketch #254 by the talented Jenny Evens

Products Used: Flair: A Flair For Buttons, Alphas: American Crafts, Stamp: Glitz Design, Mist: Heidi Swapp, Envelope: Fancy Pants, Cork: Studio Calico, Tags: Chic Tags, Jillibean Soup, Enamel Dots: My Mind's Eye, Freckled Fawn, Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye, Simple Stories, Cardstock: American Crafts

Hop over to the Creative Scrappers site to see how the rest of the talented dt used the sketch.  

• To win a prize package from our sponsor Die-Namites complete at least one layout from sketch 252 -253 and upload it using our inLinkz at the bottom of the appropriate reveals. The deadline to submit your layout(s) for 252-253  is October 31 2013 (You are free to enter as many times as you like, simply create a new project each time)
• The deadline to submit your layout for 254-255 is November 30th 2013 - Our Sponsor(s) will be posted November 1st ;-)
• *** We have another special reveal coming November 1st! We've partnered up with White With 1 challenge blog and we'll be here to give you more inspiration! ***

Thanks for stopping by today friends.  I hope you've had a wonderful weekend thus far.

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Some Catch Up

I've been working this week.  That means I'm pretty exhausted when I get home.  I find it tricky to flip from doing everything I need to do during the day while the kids are in school to doing everything I need to do in the evenings after working all day, coming home to cook dinner.   I don't know how some are able to work full time and still manage to keep the house in order, laundry to a minimum, kids fed, and still pound out a month's worth of projects for dt work.  My hat goes off to all of you in that boat, truly.  

How about some Moments In Between pages today?  Up until last week I was up to date.  With Thanksgiving, and a really busy week last week however, I'm suddenly 2 weeks behind.  Well, it was nice while it lasted.  

This is the first time I've used a Studio Calico kit.  I can't even remember which one it was, either the August, or September kit.  I like the kit fine, the cards are a nice weight, and there are some pretty fun embellies (crazy confetti aside).

Week: September 15-21

 Left Side:

I created that arrow filler card with my Cameo Silhouette

 Right Side:

The title card was made with the Cameo

This week was done with the August We Are Family Kit from Scraptastic Club.  It was one of the Main kits for the month, NOT the This Life Noted kit.  I wanted to use up as much of my kit as possible, and love doing it this way.  It takes a little more time than using a "Project Life" style kit, cutting down the sheets and such, but it sure feels good to know that you gotten the most out of one kit as possible.

Week: September 22-28

 Left Side:

Right Side:

I apologize in advance for the glare on these pages.  I usually take my cards out of the pockets to photograph, but on this particular day it was just too windy.  I used a few of the stamps for the kit here also, they were awesome last month.

I'm pretty excited about catching up with my missed weeks.  I picked up the Project Life: Dear Lizzy - 5th and Frolic set last week. It is so cute, I anxious to break into it.  I also have the brand new Scraptastic Club October kit, that's beautiful as well.  Both collections are going to make catching up a breeze.

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Sunday Sketch Challenge

Chic Tags blog has a sketch challenge for you today.  I had fun playing along, and created this layout of my girls.

This is another photo from our little photo shoot a few weeks ago.  I could scrap and re-scrap those photos over and over, so don't be surprised if you see them a few more time here on the blog before the snow flies.

And all the tags are from the Happy Place Collection, except for the green file card which is from the School House Collection

I used some of the new Chic Tags patterned paper to create the chevron pennant.  This is one of the rare layouts I've created without journaling.  Because I'm scrapping several of these photos from the same shoot back to back, it seems redundant to keep journaling the same thing each time.  

Here is the sketch that Ashely created for us to work with

Jump in a play along with the sketch for your chance at a Chic Tags prize pack.  Hop over to the blog to see how some of the other designers interpreted the sketch, and to link up your own creation.  You are not required to use Chic Tags products, but you may win yourself some by playing along.

Have a great Saturday friends, thanks for stopping today. Pin It

Picture Perfect

Happy Friday Friends!

This week I celebrated my one year anniversary with Chic Tags.  And thought it would be fun to document the occasion using our brand new Happy Place Collection, and a photo from my CHA experience.

I was fortunate enough to be able to use some frequent flyer points to fly down to Vegas for the event. It was like a dream come true meeting Veronica in person, and helping out in the booth introducing CHA goes to Chic Tags products, and meeting so many great people from all around the world.  An added bonus was meeting fellow DT member Malika and connecting with several Instagram friends in person for the first time, like Chiao Tan pictured here.

One of the biggest hits with our new collections is the clear tags.  I've used 2 on my layout and adhered them both by holding them in place with just a teeny bit of adhesive, and them sewing around the inner border.  Love the way it turned out.  I used this idea of "happy" to create the design of my layout.  To me, all the circles give the layout a happy feel.

The Happy Place collection includes 8 - 3x4 journaling style cards, perfect for both traditional layouts, and project life style scrapping.

I think my favourite thing about the new collections are these mini icons, and the perforated strips at the bottom of the 12x12 papers.  I love the little sayings and sentiments, and the fact that they are pre-set to different styles, like this "good times" one shown here.  All I had to do was use some 3D foam dots to pop it off the page, easy peasy.

Hope you've been inspired to create something great today.  Come back on Sunday for our next Creative Scrappers reveal.   Have a wonderful day friends. Pin It

Reveal Sunday

It's Reveal Sunday over at Creative Scrappers, our first week back, and I think we're all equally excited to be here and share with you our first reveal of this new chapter using sketch #251 created by Kristine Davidson.

First up is my take on the sketch.

Jounaling reads: It was the week of Dance Camp when Théa and Haley decided it was time for their puppies to meet.  A quick call to Tara and a date at the park was in order.  08/20/13

I used the new Hello Again collection by Kaitlin Sheafer, and simply freehand cut a bunch of circles in alternating sizes, stacked them together and stitched away to create all the circle elements.  A few Studio Calico Sequins, and wood veneer shapes and a few hearts, and brands from my stash, and voilà, done.  The photo is of my middle daughter and her friend with their puppies Wilson, and Jake.

Here are a couple detail shots.

See the super cute Maggie Holmes flair buttons?  I got them at CHA in July.  They are not actually flair buttons, but badges.  I simply removed the pin from the back and used Glue Dots to adhere them to may page. 

And those little banner strips are actually from the cover sheet in the collection.  I like the tiny patterns on them rather than the larger ones from the 12x12 sheets.  Talk about recycling heh?!

Here is Kristine's sketch.

You can see I stayed pretty true to the original idea, only substituted a few hearts for the starts, and changed my title and journal placement a little.  Sketches are a great way to get the mojo flowing when you don't feel inspired.  They're also an excellent way to break out of your shell.  I especially love playing with multi photo sketches since they are not my usual way of designing a page.

Our sponsor this month is Crazy Monday Kits.  To be eligible to win a scrapbook kit from CMSK, all you need to do is create a layout based on Sketch #251, and link it up to this post on the Creative Scrappers blog using the inlinkz widget at the end of the post.  A winner will be selected on October 1. You may enter as many times as you like using a new layout each time.  Good luck, hope to see you there!

Happy Sunday friends! Pin It

Guesting at Scrapbook & Cards Today

I have the awesome privilege of guest blogging over at Scrapbook & Cards Today.  I was thrilled when Catherine invited me to share what she calls my 'signature layering style' of scrapbooking with her readers.  Today is part one of two that will post this week on her blog, and I'm sharing with readers my take on the August Colour Suite.

The colours were a prefect match to The Pier Collection by Crate Paper, and the design elements in the ephemera package were a perfect start to introducing readers to how easy layering can be.  Here is a little peek at the layout I created.

I would love for you to pop over to the Scrapbook & Cards Today blog to see the rest of the layout, and have a peek at my post for today.  I'll be back there on Wednesday to break down my layering process if you're at all interested.

I hope you're enjoying this gorgeous Long Weekend.  Thanks for popping in today!

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Paper Secrets Guest Spot

It's the 15th of the month, which means it's time for Sketch Challenge #2 over at the Paper Secrets Blog.  Kelly created another great sketch for us to work with.  I worked with the Summer Stories Collection by Teresa Collins and came up with the layout pretty quickly.

That "Life" is cut using my Silhouette Cameo.  I actually combined a couple of different fonts to get the look I was after.  I began with the Lobster font, it's one of my favourites when welding titles.  I did't however like the upper case "L" or the "F" in the font once it was welded.  The solution was to take those letters from a couple of different fonts and weld them into the Lobster font.  The "L" is from the Holla font, and the "F" is from the Apple Chancery font.

As usual I've layered many of my elements on this layout.  Only the buttons, the Studio Calico wood veneer, the Chic Tags pennant, and the Scraptastic custom flair are not from the Summer Stories Collection kit.

I loved working with this kit, and have Kristi and her shop at Paper Secrets to thank for it, as it's not a collection we have in my local LSS, so I never would have known how gorgeous it is without them. Paper Secrets has a number of great products in their shop, at great prices.  Right now, in fact there is a great deal on patterned papers, collection kits, and all cardstock.  This same collection kit is available in the shop at a super price, check it out for yourself here.

A huge thank you to Kristi and her team for having me along for the ride this month.  It was a real honour to have been asked, and a definite joy to have played along.  I sure hope I get to meet up with them again at CHA in January.  I've got my fingers crossed I'll be able to attend.

Now go and get your craft on.  You have until August 31 to link up a newly created layout to the Paper Secrets Blog using the sketch, and adding the twist to use 5 or more buttons on your layout for your chance to win a $10 gift certificate to the shop.

Thanks for stopping by today friends.  Leave me a comment, and I'll be sure to swing by and leave you some love also. Pin It

Sunshine Fun

A little something I'm sharing with Chic Tags fans.

I've had these freebie cut files that Albert created exclusively for Chic Tags sitting in my Silhouette library for sometime now.  This week I was determined to use them on a summery layout.  My oldest daughter was done school earlier than the younger two this year, as exams start about 2 weeks prior to the last day of school for Elementary school kids here.  One afternoon she decided to give a Pinterest idea.  She surprised her sisters with an afternoon snack of homemade, all natural popsicles.  It's not often that she's so thought ful with them, so of course I needed to document the occasion.  Here is how the cut files look on my page.

In case you haven't seen them yet, these are the freebie files I used.

Grab your free files here

I chose three of the four 3x4 cards to cut directly into the background sheet of my layout.  I then created my design around those two cuts.  

I actually used the sunshine card as part of my title, and backed  with a scrap piece of My Mind's Eye paper.  I used yellow on side A to fill in the rays of the sun and the grey on side B to back the word "sunshine"

These Bunting Alphabet is one of my favourite Chic Tags sets .  Here I used them to create the second part of my title, stitching them down with my sewing machine.

I backed the "love this" card with the same yellow piece of My Mind's Eye paper.

Once I was finished adding all my bits and pieces to my layout I felt it was still missing something.  To add one final touch and ground the layout I went back to my sewing machine and added a small frame to group everything together.   And voila, a fun little summer memory captured and added to the books.

For those who are not sure how to cut a 3x4 card directly into the background paper of your layout.  I've put together a very simple, and short video for you to follow.  You'll see it's rather simple to do.  You can check it out here.

I hope you've been inspired to go and create something beautiful today. Pin It

Out On The Town

That's the name of the July Kit I chose to work with this month at Scraptastic.  Here is my first layout created with the kit.

This photo is my dear Miss Maggie holding a nest we found in our tree this Spring as we were yard cleaning.  I just love the colours in it so much, I know that I'll scrap it again before summer is over.

Here are a few close ups for you:

That stitched looking stamp is definitely one of my favourites ever

Notice the stamp overlapped onto the photo?  No biggie for me.

Really love those coloured mini tags

So many stickers, embellishments, stamps to play with.  To read more about the product I used in the kit, please hop over to the Scraptastic Blog to read all about it.

I also wanted to invite you to our 3rd Birthday Celebration the first weekend in August.  Hope to see you there.

  Thanks a bunch for popping in today. Pin It