July CKC Challenge #2

I love a good sketch. It helps the creativity flow...and I like to go with the flow! This week we had an Awesome sketch from Deconstructing Jen. Head on over and check her out! (Do it now..I'll Wait-hehe) Now this site normally does cards and so when I headed over to look at the sketch I was a little worried about how I was going to translate this awesome design to a full 12x12 page.

This is the sketch:

Deconstructing Jen  

The first thing I thought of when I saw this sketch was a sunburst. They are very popular right now and I have never tried one. So I thought with this the month of many firsts why not! I will have a tutorial up later this weekend about how to make the mask I used for this page. 

So using nothing but my Counterfeit Kit Challenge  Kit for July "Summer Sky"  this is the page I came up with for my brother and his childhood love of Giant Jawbreakers! 

Sorry for the fuzzy pictures!!

The title is a play off of James and the Giant Peach. Those striped Thickers are so large that I decided to use them as a focal point and to ground the layout! 

The journaling says " I don't think he ever finished one of those things but man did he love them. Every time we went to the mall it was Giant Jawbreakers and Gummy Sharks" 

What I did to create this layout was to lay down my homemade mask and start splattering...I even splattered my entertainment center a bit! When I pulled up the mask I noticed that the rays really didn't stand out like I thought they would so I used some of the embroidery floss that was in my kit to outline every other ray. And then from there it was just a matter of layering it one. I added a bit of the floss curled up and poking out from behind the photo because I thought that I should pull the black lines from the rays to the photo! 

Have you guys ever made your own masks? If so, Did it turn out the way you wanted it to? 

I can't wait to see what you guys come up with for this challenge. Upload it to the July Mr. Linky here so that I can stop by a take a peek! 

Until Next Time "Stay Crafty, My Friends" 

Ashley Crafty

Time for The Tutorials

I promised tutorials on the 8th and here they are. I cant wait to show you what I am working on for the rest of the month!! But for now the Tutorials. Both of these are relatively simple and can easily be done while you are making your pages but if your like me and prefer to have pre-made embellishments on hand than by all means jump right in.

The first thing that I decided to counterfeit was Elle's Studio Serendipity Lil' Snippet Labels. I love these labels but they didn't fit my colors. I had a few of these left over from some earlier projects but when I put them up against Summer Sky (My July Kit) they looked oddly out of place.

Now I could have thrown them in there and and been one step closer to having my kit look that much closer to the inspiration but the whole point of making these kits is to help us make the pages and be productive. I am known to be a waffler....Every decision takes two or three hours so if they were in my kit I would have tried to make myself use them and I would have not liked the results so instead I made some that matched perfectly and I am so happy I did. 

These are super easy and all you need is scraps and bits and bobs. 

That's it. Really quite simple. I cut the strips to be about two inches by 1/2-1 inch and I think they came out pretty well.  

The second thing I counterfeited was the Pebbles Basics Mini Clothspins.

All you need for this is mini cloths pins ($1.29 for 50 @ Wal-mart) and fingernail polish....And what girl doesn't have at least one bottle around! 

Then paint...That's it. I am very happy with both. Stay tuned because on the 12th we have some inspiration and a challenge to use your kit going up over on the CKC Blog. I hope you stop by and join us!!

Until Next Time "Stay Crafty, My Friends"

Ashley Crafty  

Oh So Happy

I love all the diagonal scrapbooking I have been seeing lately and it made me think about the last page I did with a slight slant to it. About a month ago I set out to do a diagonal page  but every piece of pattern paper that I had looked horrible to me. Has this ever happened to you?

Now I don't have a particularly large stash (and that was cut in half when my apartment went up in flames last month) but I don't buy it if I don't love it. I guess after thumbing through the same 200 sheets of paper anything would start looking dated. So I decided that I would take my washi and some scraps of paper that was still appealing to me and make my own.

This is the result:

The picture is me in 1989 and it is overexposed and bleeding at the bottom but I still love it. My mom says I was a "Ham" for the camera when I was a child. I can only hope when I have my own that they will be the same way.....Hey, every scrapper can dream...Right?!?

So All I did was take strips of washi (grey) and strips of paper (pink) and lay them down in alternating stripes. I used the same pink paper covered in silver washi for the top mat and them a blue dot from a MME 6x6 pad for the bottom mat.

With the white grey and pink the almost sepia toned photo looked out of place. So, I went through my stash and pulled out every embellishment that I could find that matched the stripe in my dress from the picture. This made the picture look like it was part of the page.

That is Oh, So Happy. So I guess by now you all know that I was chosen to be a part of a great team of ladies over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog...And more excited I could not be!! So stay tuned in the coming weeks to see the pages that I have made using both their challenges and a couple of mine. I also have a couple of tutorials coming up.

On a personal note....Has anybody ever designed their own wedding invites because man I am having bride brain and I keep moving letters back and forth in millimeter increments.....I guess if I waffle in scrapbooking their is no reason that I wouldn't designing my own invitations, huh?

Until Next Time "Stay Crafty, My Friends"

Ashley Crafty

Counterfeit Kit Challenge-July

I am so, so, so excited to announce that I have been chosen to be a Master Forger over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog. Yay!!  My guess is you've landed here from the amazingly talented Angela. If not head back to the CKC Blog to start the hop from the beginning and check out all the awesome kits for this month!  So this month we were given an inspiration kit from Scrapbook and Cards. (I didn't even know they had kits, Did you?) called "Summer Fun".

This is a great kit full of primary colors.....Oh No...Primary just happens to be my scrappy "cryptonite". Here is a look at the kit.

See what I mean? I love the kit and it is so very summer but I also know that I have next to nothing in my stash in those colors. So I decided instead of counterfeiting the colors how about go for the patterns. I laid out about 200 papers in my living room floor and starting matching pattern for pattern. When I thought that was about right I went back through and lost the papers that I knew I wouldn't use and replaced them with more neutral patterns that I commonly use. 

My kit ended up taking a turn for the blue....So without further ado...(hehe that rhymed) I present "Summer Sky".

I am kind of an Alpha Junkie so you will notice there is five, yes FIVE sets of letters in this kit. That is what I love about putting together my own kits is that you can find a kit inspiring but know that you will not use half of it. This way I can take what I know I will use and what I know I like and put something together that will truly keep me scrapping for at least a couple of weeks.

Just for fun here are the embellishments by themselves:

And the papers:

I am so excited to be a part of this great team of ladies and even more excited to see what you do with this months kit!! Stay tuned as we have lots of inspiration coming up this month! And I have a couple of tutorials that will be up on the CKC Blog on the 8th!

Now head on over to Dawn @  Dawn's Scrapbook Cottage to continue on your journey of Counterfeits and inspiration!!

Until Next Time..."Stay Crafty, My Friends"
Ashley Crafty

A Big Cub Scout Giggle

I love this page.....I Love Love this photo. This picture is my brother when he was about 7 years old, I think.I hate that a lot of these older pictures dont have dates on them...Even the year would be a big help!! 

I chose this photo and the yellow tissue paper behind it to go together and the rest just kind of fell into place. I started layering papers from the Amy Tangerine Daybook and journaling cards from Echo Parks Memos Collection and once I started I figured I would just pull everything I have in these colors and throw it on there. 

This layout just set itself up for some hidden journaling...I used a Dear Lizzy tag and rolled some of the tissue paper up and used it like raffia.

I actually had to start over on this page because the yellow mist went on a little heavy on the first page and turned the background into a solid yellow. I didn't really want to use the Swiss Dot background for this one but hey, gotta roll with the punches right?!?

Since I am so big on black lettering and this layout has no black anywhere else I decided that in order to pull the color into other parts of the layout i would use the asterisks that come with the letters as an embellishment of sorts. I think it helps to draw the eye around the page. I did the same thing with the Splish Splash layout.

He was so very happy!! He was always very jovial as a child. So there it is the Most Layered Layout I have ever done! I think it turned out well especially since I moved those papers around for 2 hrs. before I had it looking right!!

So thats it from me tonight-Until Next Time-"Stay Crafty, My Friends"

~Ashley Crafty~

And The Waffler Waffles No More

I have a really bad habit of putting things down and not being able to leave them alone. I call it waffling, I waffle on a lot of things. I guess you could call me indecisive. I will move and embellishment back and forth on my page 30 times before finally deciding to stick it down. 

When I can't figure out where I want to start with a layout I sort my scraps and 9 times out of 10 a color scheme will present itself to me. So I decided I was going to use those scraps and create a layout and no matter what I was not allowed to pick anything up and move it to another spot once I thought it looked okay!! 

I pulled out my mat and my camera and told myself that I had to finish the layout before I was done cooking dinner. (Luckily I scrap in my Living Room which is right off of my kitchen) I am amazed at how quickly I was able to finish this page when I didn't "waffle"!

(Please excuse the photos, I over-processed them so you couldn't see how badly out of focus they were)

I put together this collage as a reminder to myself to just stick it down!! There will always be more paper, more stickers, more embellishments and more photos to scrap!! (If I ever get my camera back)

Close up of Step 6

So this layout was completed in 45 minutes and that is a miracle for me as it can take me up to 6 hrs. to do one layout!!

If you have trouble like me with over thinking every little thing leave me a comment and let me know what it is that you do to speed yourself along.

Until Next Time "Stay Crafty, My Friends"

~Ashley Crafty~

Splish Splash-Taking a Bath

I am back with another layout....My favorite layout. For the time being anyway. I have always loved this photo...It captures my brothers 7 yr. old attitude so well! Wasn't he just the cutest!!

I love this green grid pattern by October Afternoon and I knew I wanted to use kraft accents. That's where the Simple Stories came in! Soft greens, mellow yellows, kraft and black I love this color scheme.

Does anyone else remember "Splish-Splash, I was taking a bath" . There was an episode of Americas Funniest Home Videos when I was about 7 that had a little boy playing in the tub and singing that song. For some reason it has always stuck with me. Plus I like using song lyrics for titles!! :) 

I really love this layout and the colors are more vibrant in person. So that's it from me today...So until next time "Stay Crafty, My Friends" 

~Ashley Crafty~

Preview of Layouts to Come

I finally got some pictures that are worthy of sharing! My Sister-in-law let me borrow her camera. I will be so glad when I get the battery for my camera in!! I dropped in today to give a preview of the layouts I have ready to post over the next week. Splish Splash is one of my favorites EVER!! 

I am finally getting somewhere with these photos from me and my brothers childhood! I will be back with more tomorrow!

Gulf Coast Kit Challenge

I am back with  a challenge for featuring my Conterfeit Kit "Gulf Coast". To see my post on the counterfeit kit click HERE.

For today's challenge "Instant Shine" I actually have two prompts for you.

Prompt #1) Use a Polaroid/Instant frame on your page/project. (either handmade or bought)

AND

Prompt #2) Use Sequins somewhere on your page. 

Sequins are one of the hottest new "trends" right now so I say "Use it before you stash it". I know how it works for me, I will buy them, admire them, love them and then store them..but as far as using them well you know how that goes! :) 

So here is my project for "Instant Shine".

The only thing that wasn't in my kit is the Laugh Sticker @ the bottom of the Polaroid frame. 

If your not big on mists or splatters than sequins can be used to get the look without the mess! 

This layout is one of the first that I have mixed Thickers on. So that's the challenge "Instant Shine". Come back here and leave me a comment if you complete this challenge and be sure to leave a link to your project as I would love to see them. 

Until next time..."Stay Crafty, My Friends" 

~Ashley Crafty~

My Counterfeit Kit and DIY Glitter Tape

I decide to take on the challenge of creating a counterfeit kit thanks to the inspiration over at Counterfeit Kit Challenge. I spent about an hour Sunday looking through the many great kits from several Kit clubs and settled on a great kit from Noel Mignon called Hayride

I love this kit but my main reason behind choosing it has to do with those mismatched October Afternoon Alphas. I have had them in my "stash" for some time now and have never been able to use them...despite trying several times.

I have named my kit Gulf Coast because of the turn it took once I started pulling papers. Please forgive the photos (I had to take them with my phone...My camera is due back from being repaired any day now!!) So without further ado: Gulf Coast. 

Gulf Coast Embellishments

I started with the letter stickers and wood veneers (pictured below) as those were the things that stood out the most to me but from there things took a turn! hehe

wood veneers

The bones of the kit are the same--Very "Sticker-Centric" and around 20 sheets of paper but the colors are my own. Since this is an older kit I gave mine a bit of an update with some more "trendy" items. (Read-Sequins and Handmade Polaroid Frames) I also threw in the hand-cut hearts in place of the canvas butterflies which come in to play for my challenge (but more on that in a minute). 

Gulf Coast Papers (and more Embellies!!) 

I pulled my colors from that OA Sticker Sheet because I saw that as the one piece that tied Noel's kit together. As for the contents of my kit...Here goes:

Papers:  Cardstock: Light Green and Orange by Colorbok, Teal by Recollections, Grey Textured Cardstock by Bazzill-Two Scoops, and Kraft by Amy Tangerine Ready Set Go. 6x6 Papers: 2 6x6 Dear Lizzy Fifth and Frolic Papers, 6 6x6 Amy Tangerine Ready Set Go Papers. 12x12 Pattern Papers: My Minds Eye-The Sweetest Thing-Lavender "The Best", My Minds Eye-The Sweetest Thing-Tangerine "Together" and "Happy", Studio Calico-Sundrifter-"Wildflowers", "Meadowland", "Dreamweaver", "In Love", "Seafoam", and "Set Sail", Pink Paislee-Cottage Farms "Basket" and Amy Tangerine-Ready, Set, Go "Get Cozy"

Embellishments: Studio Calico- Ampersand Mask, Pink Paislee-Soiree Wood Veneers, Dear Lizzy-Flag and Label Stickers, Smash-Pocket, Kaiser Craft- Yellow Report Pockets, My Minds Eye-The Sweetest Thing- Tiny Word Stickers "About Me", My Minds Eye-Collectible Label Stickers-Memorable "Note", 3 Dear Lizzy-Lucky Charm Tags, 2 Echo Park Journaling Cards, 2 MAMBI Journaling Cards, Darice-Silver Washi Tape, Studio Calico Wood Veneers "Chevrons, Triangles and Butterflies", Evalicious-Happy Stamp, Handmade Glitter Tape , Handmade Poloroid Frames and Hand Cut Paper Hearts 

Brads: 2 Crate Paper Story Teller, 8 My Minds Eye-The Sweetest Thing and 4 Dear Lizzy X-mas Rose Brads. 

Letter Stickers: Amy Tangerine-Tile Thickers-Blue/Teal, American Crafts-Remarks "French Toast", American Crafts-Thickers "Notarized", October Afternoon-Mini Market "Pink and Black", October Afternoon-Farmhouse 12x12 "Found Alphas.

As for the Glitter Tape-I have taken the "Red Line Tape" or "Terrifically Tacky Tape" and laid it out across white  paper. Peel off the backing and apply glitter. Then cut them down to size.

So simple and so much cheaper than the rolls of glitter tape with 4 yards for $3.00. So that is it for my first Counterfeit Kit. I will be back tomorrow with a challenge for you. (Hint: it has something to do with paper hearts) So until tomorrow-Stay Crafty My Friends!!

~Ashley Crafty~

The Bubble Boy of Summer

This layout is another summer one. Can you tell that I am so, so, so ready for the warn weather. Shorts, Flip-Flops and Lazy days by the Pool can not came soon enough. But enough about my Summer Envy. This Picture was taken by me in July of 2002, I came out of the room and my brother was standing there blowing bubbles...Have you ever seen something and just know that it is a moment you need to capture on film?? Still to this day it is one of my favorite Jacob Pictures (That and the one from Splish Splash which I will be photographing in the coming week...hopefully)

I am not big on the big Anchor trend...while I do think it is a versatile shape I can not for the life of me put it on a page that is not about the beach or boating, even swimming would do but I thought it worked well here. (of course this is a beach photo).

The Good Ol' Cabana Inn. That place was like a second home to us in the summer...Oh, how I miss the beach!!

The Squirrel and Cheese story will have to wait for another day I'm sorry to say. Again I did my journaling on Vellum because I am just terrified to destroy my pages with a spelling error. I think I need to work on that.

As for the Materials: The background paper is an older October Afternoon Paper, the Yellow Wood-grain is an Amy Tangerine and the Orange Paper and White Tile Letters are both from Echo Park Paper Co. This and That. The Thickers were given to me so I don't know exactly who they are from, and of course the Today and Anchor are both from the Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm Line.

That is all from me tonight but Chloe wishes you all a Great Week!!!

That is her Have a Great Week Face!!!

Summer Time...And the Living is Easy!!

Summer Time and the living is easy....or so it was in August of 1997 when the photo for this layout was taken. I loved these two photos as they epitomized summer growing up for me. We had been in the "new" house for a little over a year and me and my brother had a brand new trampoline!!

When I saw these two photos, one a 4x6 and the other a 4x10 panoramic shot, I knew they had to go on a page together. I don't normally "do" multi-photo layouts but I gave it my best!!

 

I had to cut the panoramic photo down a bit to make it fit. I was 12 my brother was 7 and these days in the backyard on the trampoline with the sprinkler aimed at us are still some of the fondest memories I have of summer. 

I used Studio Calico Sundrifter. I have never paid much attention to Studio Calico papers but both Sundrifter and Snippets really caught my eye this time. 

This was my first time playing around with the wood veneers and Mistable Thickers. I colored the Thickers and wood veneers with the same mists I used on the background. The colors are the Heidi Swapp Colorshine in Peach and Studio Calicos Mister Hueys in Splash.

I also used the Snippets Flair-Be Happy and the arrows are from the Sundrifter line. I did learn on thing in the process of this layout and that was that you really have to let the mists sit on the wood veneers in order to achieve a bright color. 

Do you have any childhood photos that really speak to the memories of a given time or season? Have you taken any photos lately that epitomize what you feel about a Season? Are you a new fan of Studio Calico or any other manufacturer that you didn't pay any attention to before? Let me know in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you. 

In Dads Shoes

I have been going through my photos and have recently found some of my husband as a child. So I scrapped them. This photo is from 1990. Jack was 3.

I am really happy with the way this came out seeing as I had no plan when I started. I just sat down among a pile of paper and went for it.

I used My Minds Eye- The Sweetest Thing for the background paper. The feather stickers are from American Crafts Soho Garden Collection. 

I love this little elephant from the Amy Tangerine Ready Set Go line and I have been itching to find him a home. I originally thought that I was going to use bright colors for this page but it just kind of came together in this Grey/Blue color scheme. 

The feather stickers added just enough color so that the photo didn't look out of place. The real feather was added in because it had been sitting on my craft mat for a week I thought it would soften the sticker a bit. 

I just love his picture. He is so ready to go. He's got he big shoes on and his hat. The I brought the Black I love you more sticker in to balance the black letters on the left side. 

So there it is "In Dads Shoes". Have you had a layout recently that went in the complete opposite direction than you thought it would? Let me know in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you. 

Meet Me In The Sunshine

In case you haven't noticed I have been going through and scrapping a lot of my childhood photos. This one here is of me and my parents (see those two in the background laying on the bench) at Walt Disney World a whooping 15 yrs. ago. It really does not seem like it was that long ago. I used mostly Amy Tangerine's Ready Set Go line for this one with a few touches of Sketchbook. 

The letters down the side are from Echo Parks Sweet Day line and the Pink Alphas are October Afternoon Mini Market Alphas.

My albums are the furthest thing from cohesive. This layout goes right in front of the Tea for Two layout from my last post-Then and Now.  The vellum hearts from that line really didn't catch my eye when I first saw them but after seeing them in real life and not through a computer screen I find them quite appealing.

I really liked this sticker. It was the only thing that I knew I wanted to put on this layout from the beginning.

So that is it. Now if I could only get the 500 other pictures from my childhood done I would be in good shape.

In Other News:

This past weekend was my Mother-In-Laws 55th birthday. We went, We ate..I took to few pictures. (I always do) 

Happy B-Day Robbin!!

I did manage to get a picture of my husband, his brother and their Pepa together right before we left.

Left to Right-My Brother in Law Micheal, My Hubby and their Pepa Jack

And the most exciting news--I finally got a place to put my scrap stuff. It's not a room and it is still in my living room but it is soo much better than shoe boxes!!! More on that to come later this week.

Have a Crafty Friday-

~Ashley Crafty~

Then and Now #2

I'm back with another "THEN and NOW". (I say in my best game show host voice)

THEN

 This one is from my first trip to a scrapbook store. I didn't even know there was such a thing.  Ahh, to be so naive! I stumbled in there and found such a magical world. Big rolls of stickers and bins full of tiny things that you could put in tiny glassine bags. So I bought these stickers and brads and went home and did the one thing that I still regret today....I took my decorative stickers to my pictures and I made a Layout. I think this may have been the second or third layout I ever made. And now in all it's Decorative edges Glory: 2 Peas in a Pod.

The yellow corduroy fabric brads were the first thing I knew I had to have. I really wish I could find some more of them now. I cut these pictures down so that I could fit three to a page. I really wish I hadn't done that now because these are the originals.  These pictures of me and my hubs were taken just weeks after we started dating. Oh, so happy!!

NOW

This layout was done last week while I was squirreled away in a hotel for work. I worked 100 hrs. in 8 days and I still brought my supplies with me. Dedicated Huh? Anyway this is a layout that I really, really, really like. Me & You-Tea for Two

The picture is from Walt Disney World in 1998. That is me waving with my brother tailing me. I saw these papers and this photo and normally I  am not big on the whole "your photos colors have to match the papers" thing but with this I just couldn't resist. The background paper is from Echo Parks-Sweet Day and the other paper are My Minds Eye-The Sweetest Thing. (That makes this layout SWEET!!) :)

The triangles were "Fussy Cut" from the Dear Lizzy 5th and Frolic 6x6 paper pad, which took a lot longer than I thought it would. Then I put them on pop dots to make them stand out a little. Since the overall color scheme is very muted I thought they would just become part of the background if I left them flat.

The camera is from Amy Tangerine's Ready Set Go line and the banner is from Pink Paislee's Cottage Farms. (I won some from 2peas before its release date)

Dear Lizzy Foam Thickers in turquoise/green...I don't know what you would call that color. I love the pink teapot in the photo and how it really stands out with the pink in the papers. 

This is the top right corner. Most people (that I have noticed anyway) tend to put their clusters in the top left but it looks off if I try to do it that way. The grey washi tape is from Recollections (Micheal's Brand). I love this Washi tape. It goes with everything!!

The last thing I did was add the pink measuring tape down the side. I don't know why so don't ask it just felt right. :)

So that's it for another episode of Then & Now...Tune in next time for another layout from way back when vs. the one I just made (Again in my best Game Show Voice)

Do you know where I can find some corduroy fabric brads? Do you now the name of that color on the Thickers? Did you ever cut your photos up with Decorative Scissors, and if so Do you regret it now? Leave me a comment. I love hearing from you!!