Life's Trivialities

Magical / Creative Scrappers

Wow! It's turning out to be a busy fun filled week here on the ol' blog! A sketch yesterday and another today! Believe it or not, there is yet another sketch to come on Saturday as well! Today's sketch inspired project is brought to you courtesy of Creative Scrappers, sketch 306!

Here's the sketch Kristine created;

And here's what I did with it;

I stuck to the overall design of the sketch with the 6 rectangles in a grid that is skewed to the right of the page. I did use two pictures instead of one. I also shifted the title to the left of the grid and used a subtitle in place of the title.

This layout came together rather quickly, so quickly it wasn't worth a process video. The patterned papers are all scraps from my scrap stash. I pulled red, black and golds/yellows, wanting to stick with the Harry Potter/Hogwart Express colors.

It was fun to just create and not worry about the design placement of things so much as just putting things on the page and letting the pictures tell the story. It's not often that my scrapping as a designer affords me such ability and ease of craft. I toyed with stitching around the squares, of roughing up the edges... In the end, I went with simple. Clean and simple.

That's it from my today my scrappy friends! Be sure to play along and use the appropriate hashtags (#creatingwithsketches #cssketch306) to tag your project so we can find it and you are eligible to win a prize from our sponsor this month; Cuts 2 Luv. They have such cute badges and they are available in English and French.You can follow them on Facebook,  Instagram and shop.

 

Splendid Girl / Creative Scrappers / Process Video

Sorry friends for the radio silence here on the ol' blog... We were in Florida for a bit for a swim meet and Spring Break and then there was Easter. And a who lot of catching up ensued. It's crazy how you really need a vacation to recover from your vacation. BUT, I'm back! I have been posting videos and sharing my work on Instagram. It's become increasingly difficult to hit all the social media sources. I'm trying to find a groove.

But I digress! Scrapbooking and sketch inspired layout, that is what this blog post is all about! Our sponsor over at Creative Scrappers this month is The Cut Shoppe. Ashley was very generous and supplied the team with some of her fantastic digital cut files to create with. So without further ado, my sketch 305 inspired layout created using Simple Stories So Fancy collection and digital cut files from The Cut Shoppe!

I have a process video on my YouTube channel sharing with you the construction of this layout from beginning to end. This is far from my favorite voice over, I apologize now. Unfortunately, I recorded not one, not two, not three but FOUR voice overs for this video... Needless to say, by the third round of talking to myself and saying the same thing OVER and over and over again, I was a tad fed up. So I apologize in advance for the shortness of verbage that accompanies the video.

I hand stitched around each of the three squares. In place of the two circles called for in the sketch I used two of The Cut Shoppe digital cut files; Wreathed in Love and Funky Florals. I used Splendid Spring for half of my title, the other half is chipboard from Simple Stories.

Rather than use three pictures, I used one with chipboard frames substituting for the other two picture spots. I didn't have but one picture from this moment and really just wanted to focus on this one particular picture. By not putting the other two, I left myself room to journal.

There is a TON of color in this collection, it is bright. It is fun! But when you have that much color, it's best to convert your picture to black and white. It allows the picture, the focus of the page, to stand out. It better ensures that you see the picture, the focal point of the story one is trying to tell.

And that, my friends, is my layout/video of the day. I hope you are inspired to create something with sketch #305 from Creative Scrappers! Be sure to visit the Creative Scrappers blog and link us your projects if you play along!

Thanks for stopping in today!

 

 

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Hope / Creative Scrappers / Process Video

Wow! I'm on a roll with blog posts and process videos this week! It's either feast or fame around here. I hope you're enjoying the "feast"! Fatten you up some before the famine arrives! LOL!

Today I have a layout created based on this month's March sketch (sketch #304) over at Creative Scrappers. You can see that whole blog post HERE.

For your viewing pleasure, this months sketch;

And my interpretation of this sketch;

I have to be honest; I didn't not like this sketch. Not at first. While I am boxy and linear, I could NOT handle ALL that white space. In fact, if you watch the process video, I filled that white space at first. With much more that what you see here. I call the video done. But after much thought and a consult with my scrappy BFF, I was convinced that that large amount of white space was okay. That moving the embellishments into the diagonal flow of movement was okay. In fact, was more pleasing to the eye.

I really love the finished layout! So if you are like me and looked at the sketch and said yuck, give it a go! You might be REALLY surprised with how it turns out!

Swoon! That digital cut file as another layer in the 6x6 layers just really ties it all together and adds proportional symmetry to the layout. And swoon over that bunny too! There was no way he wasn't going to find a home on this page!

Just another perspective of the finished layout. If you want to see additional detail shots, be sure to visit the Creative Scrappers blog or there are more at the end of my process video.

If you are a sketch fan and are inclined to play along, it would be lovely to see how you are inspired by the squares upon squares! There is a link up on the Creative Scrappers blog or you can post on Instagram using the hashtag #CSsketch304

Thanks for joining me today!

 

Xoxo / Creative Scrappers

Hey scrappy peeps! It's my turn up on the Creative Scrappers blog to share with you my sketch inspired layout based on this month's sketch and I have a little YouTube process video to accompany it.

Here's the sketch that Kristine created;

And here is what I came with based on the above inspiraton;

Things took a bit of a "love-ly" twist when I decided to use the horizontal strips in the shape of an over sized heart for a Valentine's day layout. In order to keep things simple, it was easier to have the bit of a downhill slope while fussy cutting the stripes. I balanced that with horizon oriented pictures and embellishments. You can see from the video that the downhill embellies, before being relocated, looked as though they were about to slide off the page.

It never ceases to amaze how differently we all interpret sketches! Those horizontal strips are used is such different ways over the past week and there are still 3 more weeks of inspiration coming your way from the rest of the design team! So cool!

I really struggled to find the right background for this layout. I began with a much different color altogether and am glad I switched. That heart filled grey really made a difference and allowed the heart to pop from the page.

The "Cherish" embellishment from Heidi Swapp serves two purposes; to hide the funky stitching where I didn't round the corner too well for starters! Secondly, it is an obvious horizon that anchors all the other embellishments, thus providing a bit of a "ground", per se.

And there you have it folks! We would love for you to play along with us over at Creative Scrappers! Kristine has created an inlinkz that is HERE for you to link up your projects!

 

Creative Scrappers December Reveal / Blog Hop

Hi Everyone!

Creative Scrappers is hosting a BLOG HOP today in conjunction with our reveal for sketch 301 and our sponsor Spiegelmom Scraps. I hope you can take a few minutes from your busy day and join us!

This is the layout I created using the above sketch and some wonderful goodies that Jody from SpiegelMom Scraps sent us. I turned the rectangular strips from the sketch into banners. I thought I would save you the time and provide the measurements of the rectangles I used to create my page, from left to right (width x height);    2 x 8.75", 3.25 x 10.25", 1.25 x 8.5",   2.5 x 8" and 1.5 x 8.5". There is 0.5 inches between top and sides of the strips.

    

  

 

My Fancy Pants embellishments were very nicely complimented with Chunky Stars cork pieces, the "diamonds" from the Holiday Happiness sequins and the 4 inch Lace Paper Doilies. I had to choose selectively with the sequins as the remainder of the bits weren't in keeping with the color scheme of my layout. It's nice to have the selection and use what works. I almost forgot the mini glassine bag that is tucked behind the left hand side photo, that too is from SpiegelMom Scraps! Lots of great goodies to be had and use for layering or embellishing your layouts.

 

Aren't that doily and cork star just perfect embellishments for this Christmas layout?

Every Christmas layout needs a little sparkle and these sequins diamonds provide that perfect touch! 

Here's the order for today's hop!

 

 

Anne Keller

Ashley Smith

Audrey Yeager

Caroli Schulz

Christine Beuzit

Jinny Newlin

Joefil E. Cate

Kristine Davidson

Majken Pullin 

Marielle LaForge-LeBlanc

Nicole Doiron

Rachel Lowe

Sarah King

Suzanna Lee

Valerie Ouellet

Vivian Lake

Yvette Weber

 

Please take advantage of this coupon on your next purchase from Spiegelmom Scraps!

 

  

Enjoy our reveal this month and please visit us on Dec 15 for another blog hop with the design team members from SMS!

tag us using #CreatingWithSketches and #Spiegelmomscraps when you share your sketch inspired projects on social media.

We will also have a great prize for one of our participants as well as a copy of the NEW Creating With Sketches V4!

 

Your next stop on the hop is to go and visit the very talented Valerie Ouellet! I'm sure you will blown away with what she has to share with you today! Thanks for stopping in and joining us!

Teen Love / Creative Scrappers

Hi scrappy friends!! November 1st Kristine over at Creative Scrappers released another great new sketch! Sketch number 300! 300 fabulous sketches, she deserves big kudos for all that inspiration! It's the first release for the most recent of us joining her design team.

Here is my interpretation of the sketch;

I love clean layouts with right angles so this sketch certainly fills that bill! I mixed collections from Bella Blvd to fill the squares with the background piece from Alex as the color guide.

This is sketch 300 that inspired that layout above;

Be sure to check out the Creative Scrappers blog to download the free cut file that Kristine created to accompany the sketch and ooh! and aah! over the other projects that the other design team gals created based on this fantastic sketch!

Sibs / Creative Scrappers sketch / Paper Issues

I'm dropping in today with a quick share of a layout I created using Kristine's latest sketch over at Creative Scrappers, sketch #298. I am a huge fan of her sketches, they always help me to creative some of my favorite layouts. This is no exception. Throw in a fun cut file from Paper Issues (you can download it for free HERE) and the newest Christmas collection from Elle's Studio (also from Paper Issues) and I'm really pleased with the results!

I used two squares instead of the three that the sketch called for. It was just too much on the page otherwise. That's the beauty of sketches, interpreting them as you see fit.

Stars as the clustered embellies could have worked on this layout but I really wanted the holly and mistletoe die cuts that better complimented the Christmas theme. I used cut files from Kerri Bradford for that as well as some of the circle elements from the Elle's Studio collection to create the two embellishment clusters,

I toyed with the idea of some mist splatters or embossing paste on the background for more texture but decided against it. Less is more with the business of the words in the cut file. Even the diagonal stripes add busy movement to the page that really didn't need competition.

Puffy stickers! I heart puffy stickers!! While houses with Christmas collections are nothing new, these houses are so cosy and welcoming! I could move right in.

Thanks for stopping in today!

Getting It Done / Sketch Inspired

Howdy! How are things is your neck of the woods? I hope all is swell! We here in the Lee-Bishop family are winding down the swim year with Virginia Age Group Champs behind us and just summer league champs to go. Then a blissful month OFF!! It's funny because I know both kids are looking forward to it but are also wondering what they will do with their free time. I thought after three and a half days at the pool they would be done... Guess where we found ourselves Monday night for three hours?!...

Today's layout is inspired by the latest sketch over at Creative Scrappers. I'm so glad to see Kristine and her design team back at it with sketches! And to have Just Nick be sponsor, having just come off that design team. Couldn't be a better pairing!

Earlier you saw Mia's companion layout to this one, hers was title "Record Breaker" and created with a Cocoa Daisy kit. Nikolas accomplished a similar feat and I wanted to document his accomplishment as well. Interestingly, both layouts have a vertical strip of pictures that run down the left hand side of the page.

My embellishment clusters, while still a trio, are placed slightly differently that those in the sketch. I took a bit of liberty there. Because I messed about with the digital cut file, squashing it down the page, I needed something to fill the top space.

The patterned papers and embellishments are an eclectic mix of goodies from my stash. I had set out to use the Echo Park Let's Be Mermaids collection but found that I wanted more variety in the aquas and greens so reached into my scraps for the backing pieces to the cut file.

Yet another swimming layout for the books! Layouts from this weekend might be a tad more difficult given I didn't bring my big camera and we were in doors. I have a few pictures (illegal given we weren't supposed to be taking pictures or video from behind the blocks - oops) on my camera but not many. I really just wanted to be present and enjoy their moments. Rather unlike the scrapper in me! LOL!

I hope you have a nice mix of getting it done and being in the moment in your summer!

 

44 Birthday Layout / Bella Blvd & Creative Scrappers

My first scrappy layout posted on the blog for the year, created in 2015!! Woot! I'm amazed I've done what I've done... My scrappy space is in MAJOR overhaul. A much needed overhaul. I haven't done a thing but add and add and add to my stash, storage and space in the 7 years we have lived in this house. As you can well imagine, that's a lot of accumulation... Michael and the kids got sick of the overflowing flowing and decided that my birthday would be a great time to remedy that situation. So two trips to Ikea, lots of building and lots of sorting, sifting and wading still to do and we're in the middle of a major make over. I LOVE the space redone! Just not so fond of the purging part.

Anyway, I digress, my layout. This layout is based on the latest and greatest Creative Scrappers sketch, sketch number 285. Created by my friend Juliana Michaels! I love me a good sketch, even better, a sketch created by Juliana.

I took a few liberties but you get the general idea. It's not too far from the sketch. Thanks to this, that and the next collection from Bella Blvd, this came together lickety split! LOVE these pictures of Michael as he celebrated his 44th birthday.

I just love how easy it is to mix and match collections from Bella Blvd so seamlessly! A little pop dot action there to give some depth to some of the elements.

Stars and hearts are the major elements instead of the circles Juliana had in her sketch. Works!

Love this sketch! Thanks Juliana and Creative Scrappers for the inspiration!

Winter Wonderland / Creative Scrappers & Doodlebug

Dropping in today to share with you a layout that I created inspired by the latest Creative Scrappers sketch, sketch #281. You can find the sketch here if you're interested in playing along! I used the Doodlebug collection Frosty Friends for this layout, it was just perfect!

I will often change my pictures to black and white if the colors in the picture compete or don't compliment the papers that I want to use. It's quick and easy to do with PhotoShop. You would be appalled if you saw the clashing (neon) snow bibs and coats these children were wearing... Not a good scrapping Mum moment at all! LOL!

I love the little critters that Doodlebug includes in their collections. Very cute indeed. I added more dimension to the layout by layering stickers and using liqued adhesive to include some pom pom snowballs on the layout.

Layered tree stickers make for a dimensional tree, complimenting my little snow man and snowflakes!

It was really difficult to see the title on my page so the additional of a welded layer which I outlined and the wind swirl of thread really made it stand out against the snowy background. I shifted the title a tad to the right from the sketch, making it my own. Suiting the sketch to my needs.

Initially, I pondered using a large photo instead of the large bottom patterned paper, a little variety in the sketch. I just didn't have an enlargement that worked. Perhaps another picture with different papers! Stay tuned!