Life's Trivialities

Back To School / YouTube Collaborative Series / Download

I know, I know... I have failed miserably and putting my projects here as well... The intent is there, the time is sorely lacking. BUT I have had requests for downloads for a cut file from this layout I am sharing today so I will fulfill that promise.

My scrappy friend Christine Meyer invited me to participate in her Back To School collaborative series concluding tomorrow and the above layout is what I created. I have a million back to school pictures that I have yet to do something with... Sound familiar? If so, be sure to hop over to her YT channel HERE and find inspiration not only from Christine but some other creatives!

My kids aren't back to school yet so these are pictures from the just completed school year; my daughter on her way to 5th grade. Her final year of elementary school. I did write in on that Pebbles Inc clipboard; I wrote the grade, school and teacher. Short and sweet. That's all it needed!

I used the Amy Tan collection Hustle and Heart for this layout (with the exception of that aforementioned Pebbles sticker). I love that the collection is so diverse yet I was able to find lots of bits perfectly suited to the Back to School theme. The "Back to School" title on my layout is a combination of a font I stretched in Silhouette Design Studio and a purchased cut file. I have to apologize as I don't know who the "school" file deserves credit for.

I did machine stitch on the very edge of that upper piece. It just added a touch of dimension to the layout that is otherwise rather clean. I did rip paper! Something I have noticed I'm doing increasingly.

Digital Download | Paperclip Background

I created this paper clip background in Design Studio for Silhouette and have converted to both a PNG and SVG file for you to download for FREE! Click on the above image title for the link. This digital file is available in SVG, PNG and Studio formats and you may download this digital cut file for FREE for your own personal use.

I hope you enjoy the video and I would love for you to subscribe to my YouTube Channel and of course feel free to leave any comments you have about the video. I'd love to hear your feedback!

Thanks for stopping in today! If you use my cut file and have a means of linking me up, I'd love to see what you do with it!

Take care scrappy peeps! And, as always, thanks for popping in!

 

Life Is An Adventure / Stuck?! Sketches

I told you I was going to blog so here I am again!

Today is reveal day over at Stuck?! Sketches. Every month Laura releases two sketches; one on the 1st and another on the 15th. I have been busting to share this layout with you! I created it almost a month again now, shared a sneak on IG, and have been sitting on it. Waiting! Waiting patiently until today! This has got to be one of my FAVORITE layouts I have created!

Above is the sketch that was the inspiration of this layout;

I knew as soon as I saw the sketch that I was going to fussy cut those flowers from 1Canoe2!! While I loved the tan cross patterned paper that coordinated with the flowers and is part of the collection, I really wanted something else, something more striking that really popped the flowers and the pictures. Both the diagonal stripes and the navy polka dot papers are from older Fancy Pants collections, Trendsetter and Happy Go Lucky.

The story being told is behind the pictures on the white tag there. I could have journaled on the navy patterned paper with a white pen but I really didn't want to detract from the design of the page.

There is a lot of dimension to this page with the loose leaves, wood veneers and the gold thread. I even bolstered the left hand picture by folding golden vellum behind the picture to lift it up a bit.

Not a very adventurous title but I really wanted to incorporate the "adventure" ephemera from the pack. Life with this child IS an adventure! I had intended to put "Life parenting you is an adventure" but the length of that was outside the realm of the space I wanted the title to occupy. So I settled for shorter and talked more to the point in my journaling.

 If you care to watch how this layout came together, process video #56 from my YouTube channel is my creative process as I created this layout;

Thanks for stopping in today and we would love to have you join us at Stuck?!. There is a design team call out too if you are interested!

Love This / Stuck Sketches - Process Video

It's May 15th and that means the second sketch of the month over at Stuck Sketches is being revealed. If you are new to Stuck, there are two reveals; one of the 1st and another on the 15th of every month. I'm thrilled to be joining Laura and the gals over at Stuck!

Here's the sketch;

And here is my interpretation of that sketch;

I used the Amy Tangerine, On A Whim collection to create this layout. The multi colored patterned paper with triangles or banners was the focus of my color palate for this layout. As such I pulled the its and pieces from the collection that had those same blues, yellows and pinks in them to create with. I also supplemented with a few random puffy stickers and some coordinating mists.

You can watch my process come together on my YouTube channel here;

I have made a concerted effort lately to do my journaling right then and there. If I haven't journaled, I can't give the layout a thumbs up and call it done. I can't tell you how large the pile of "to be journaled" layouts is... I can't file them in the albums unless they are journaled, it's my own rule. And yet I just can't bring myself to sit and spend the time journaling. I would rather be crafting. So, there they sit. Am I alone in this? Me thinks not. ;) You well actually see in the process video that I journal, it doesn't just magically appear off camera!

That pop of yellow from the doily is the perfect compliment to the this layout! LOVE!

White space is good! I love the white space at the bottom of the layout. But it did need a little something. Just a smidge of complimentary color and some stickers in order to "lighten" the load at the top of the layout. I used a mix of Shimmerz, Maya Road and Tattered Angels. I went more for the color of the mist splattered than the effect.

I would love to see you play along with us. Please link up your layouts over in the sidebar at Stuck?! Sketches by May 29th at midnight EST to be in the running for one of our prizes!   All prizes will be drawn randomly using Random.org to pick a number.

Thanks for popping in today!

Sweet Belle / Stuck Sketches

Hey! Hey! Happy St Paddy's Day!

I am this half of the month's guest designer over at Stuck Sketches today! What an absolute honor it is to be joining Laura and her gals! Be sure to check out the new sketch HERE and see what the other designers did!

This is what Laura sent me to work with. At first I pulled St Paddy's Day pics to work with but I couldn't find embellies that made me happy or worked well with the papers I had pulled. I quickly abandoned that idea and went with some adorable pics of Belle, our cat.

The lovely Little by Little collection from Shimelle was perfect for this layout background and set the color palate. I pulled in scraps from various manufacturers in the same hues are support to complimentary embellies that accompanied the Shimelle collection. I could have stuck with the collection alone but I really wanted bits and pieces of the bigger flowers from My Mind's Eye.

I used my circle punch to cut circles from the 6x6 pad of the floral circles as well as fussy cut the same floral wreaths from the 12x12 patterned paper. It's amazing how the different paper size can give you two different looks, don't you think?

I had some flair that I recently ordered from Feed Your Craft that was SOOOO very appropriate for this page! I used 3 pieces of the set, the ones that coordinated best with the layout.

I stuck pretty much with the sketch; four pictures, the long strip, the embellishment cluster to the right edge and the circles. Really, the only difference is that I went with rectangular pictures instead of the squares. I love that this sketch called for more than one picture and really made me think out of the clean and simple box that I am rather comfortable in. This is a rather a busy page, especially busy for me.

Stuck Sketches has some great sponsors this month and there is always another guest designer position up for grabs! If you have the time, I know things are busy as we move into Spring Breaks, Easter and the various other events of Spring, it would be great to see what you create based on this sketch!

 

Shaving Time / American Crafts

I have a recent event share today. I have been making a conscious effort to document the bigger of the daily events in our lives so that when it comes time to journaling, I have the fresh memories to write about rather than recall.

Shaving Time! A bit of a play on words. Not only was it his first time shaving but it was an act done in anticipation of shaving time off of his personal bests. A week ago, Nikolas and I sat in the jacuzzi tub in our master bathroom and underwent a swimmers' rite of passage together. First the clippers - easy, not a problem. Then, the razor. Michael had bought him shaving cream and a razor but the razor wasn't quite what I was used to. We switched to a woman's razor which is really much better designed for leg hair removal. No knicks or chunks of skin removed along the way - I'd call that a success! Mind you, my back was pretty sore after the fact...

I love this American Crafts collection from Shimelle! The bright colors, as you know, are right up my alley. And they are a perfect compliment to the bright shirt that Nikolas is wearing. My laying the vellum over the right hand side of the page, I was able to mute them somewhat and let the bright light in the pictures shine.

I even convinced Nikolas to write on the page for me! It might just be two words and a lot of exclamation points but that's a start! All the exclamation points are there "because I had to fill the space, right Mum?" Silly boy!

Thanks for stopping in today! I hope you have had success in shaving time lately!