Life's Trivialities

Chillin on the James / Sketch / Simple Stories

Sorry for the delay in getting the blog post up even though the video went up a couple of hours ago. Juggling dinner, YouTube and figuring the week ahead out can be a daunting task at times. No one ever told me that as the kids get older it gets more complicated. I mean, yes, it's easier, in some regards. But the scheduling and coordinating gets more complex.

Today I shared my first double page process video and the sketch that I created of that layout. Strangely, the layout came first and the sketch came as a result of the sketch. And, in actuality, it's a scraplift of myself. Problem being, I don't have the original layout to share with you. I created the original layout about nine years ago for Nikolas' Kindergarten teacher as part of a year end gift. I scrapped the whole year and had each kid send me a picture and answer a few questions so that I could do a page on each student. It was quite the undertaking!

I create a fair number of double page layouts, I have never filmed the creative process before. There are a number of things I have yet to figure out, like the voice over. This video is 20 minutes long. I'm not one to talk so the thought alone was daunting, never mind the execution of it. There are a fair number of pauses and "um's", for which I apologize. I can only hope it improves as the learning curve diminishes. Hang in there with me!

The "summer" sun cut file is a free download over on Facebook. Paige Evans has her own group page that if you join, you gain access to free downloads of her amazing digital cut files! That sun fills the "white" space in the photo perfectly, don't you think?

I used some Shimmerz paints on the large, central space reserved for the title. I was pleased with the way that the ombre effect worked and looks like the river water. Which also happens to compliment the patterned paper from Simple Stories' "Hello Summer" collection perfectly as well!

And, if you are of the process video ilk, this is for you;

If you like double page process videos, please leave me a comment and tell me if this is an acceptable length? How long is too long for a double page process video? I tried to eliminate the unnecessary bits and speed up other bits. It's a balancing act I tell you!

Thanks for stopping in today!

Summer Scrapping / Wade Beach

Today I am joining Audrey for her final day of her Summer Scrapping series where she is joined by some amazingly talented scrappers a day a week for 3 weeks during the summer to share a summer inspired scrapbook page with you over on YouTube. I'm sharing a day at the beach, one of this summers favorite summer memories.

Really there isn't much to this layout other than some mixed media, a digital die cut repeated three times, some chipboard and a few ripped bits and pieces of patterned paper. Yet the scene created is so summery, don't you think? It screams summer at the beach!

Lake Ontario was experienced for the first time! We have had many experiences with Lake Michigan, a few of Lake Erie but our first time dipping our toes in Lake Ontario. The kids wanted a city holiday this summer. We have had a number of beach visits and they wanted something different. Different they got. But when the opportunity to hop on a ferry and visit the beach arose, they didn't complain!

Isn't this new sequins mix from SpiegelMom Scraps the perfect color compliment to this nearly monochromatic teal layout? I love the touch of sparkle it adds to the layout!

The die cut is from the Silhouette store from one of my favorite designers, Nic Squirrell. It's a trifold that I cut in three shades of teal and then cut apart so that each wave unit has one of each color and size.

Be sure to head over to YouTube and check out the process video of how this came together. You see my video HERE. In the description box is the link to Audrey's video as well! Thanks for having my Audrey and I hope y'all are enjoying the final few days of summer.

Embrace This Moment / SpiegelMom Scraps Blog Hop

Hey scrappy peeps!! Welcome to my blog if you are new and welcome back if you are a familiar with my scrappy antics! If you didn't come here from Sheryl's blog, be sure to go HERE to the SpiegelMom Scraps blog and work you way back here! Trust me when I hint (poke, prod) that you want to do this! The grand prize for this hop is a complete set of this month's sequins releases; they are stunning!

We are showcasing this month's new sequins releases so be sure to head over to the store and see what new treats Jody has! If you find that you put goodies (and they are amazing goodies!) in your shopping cart and want a coupon code, be sure to use SUZANNA15 and earn 15% off! Including the new goodies!

I used two of the new sequins collections for this layout; Peachy Keeny and Morning Glow. The peachy pink and bluey grey colored sequins from the Peachy Keeny mix were the color drivers of this layout with the softer hues in Morning Glow being a great compliment. Based on these sequins colors, I chose the papers and embellishments that would compliment the sequins. Not my usual started point!

The way the sequins cascade down the page from the flower in the upper, left corner and lead your eye to the picture against the gold studded vellum is beautiful. It makes me think of the sparkle on the water around the fort we were visiting.

If you know me, you know I'm a bit of a fussy cutting nut. The way these flowers from 1Canoe2 two tie the colors together as a uniting element make me happy. As does the PL card from Maggie Holmes poking out of the back of the top of the pictures!

 

Should you be of the process video watching ilk, you might enjoy watching the video come together!

And now for the prize!!! Best part of these hops along with all the inspiration! Jody is giving away all of the September releases to one lucky winner. Be sure to comment at each blog as you hop and let us know what you think of the new sequins mixes and each of the designers projects! We love reading your comments!

The blog hop is open through Saturday night and after that Jody will pick a random winner from the comments on the blogs.

Here is the hop order;

SpiegelMom Scraps blog (Jody)

Sara Scraps  with Raquel :)

Ali Scraps

Karla Yungwirth

Rachel Stewart

Khristina Sorge

Christy Harriman

Lisa Kingston

Christine Beuzit

Sarah King

Laura Rumble

Sheryl Banares Briker

Suzanna Lee <---- YOU ARE HERE

Hannah Lemieux   

Daisie Hanson 

Marie Friant

I hope you enjoyed my layout and process video! From here you are off to see what greatness Hannah has in store for you! Thanks for popping in today and be sure to come back and visit soon!

Mine Tour / Cocoa Daisy - Process Video

Oh my poor old blog... Neglected... I have been crafting, I just haven't been great about putting those projects here. This space has become a bit of a "neglected stepchild" per se, sadly. With the time and effort involved in video editing and voice over, the blogging bit falls to the back burner and then the effort and energy dry up and this lovely space gets forgotten. I often wonder if anybody even checks in here anymore? Is there anybody out there reading this? Would you be sad if I let the blog go? Let me know what you think. I need to figure out what to do with this space.

In the meantime, a new project! Today's layout was created using the August Cocoa Daisy kits with an emphasis on the DITL cards.

The main inspiration for this layout was the "...last days of summer" stamp from the main kit. Thanks to our swim schedule, our family vacation always falls to the back of summer and so the most holiday fun is had in August. Having converted the picture to black and white, it really loved the pink, black and white color combination and pulled all the coordinating elements I could find in the kits. It was a bit short on pink of the same hue so I used a Gelato and created my own pocket card.

As always these days, there is a process video to accompany the layout;

 

I now have 54 process videos up on my YouTube channel. I've grown much more comfortable with the whole process and cringe far less when I hear my own voice now. If you don't already subscribe to my channel, I would love to have you join me. I try and post 2-3 times a week and that is where the bulk of my scrappy efforts are displayed these days.

A closer look at the Gelato watercolor card that I created and finished off with a stamp from the August Cocoa Daisy main kit.

I did use a hint of yellow just for a pop of color. There is a triad of yellow/mustard elements to tie things together. Not quite the color scheme one would think of for an underground activity but it works. The dark header and footer create that underground feel, the design pattern in the pink point underground, etc. There's a bit of hidden symbolism in the layout if you look for it.

Thanks for stopping in today! If you miss blog content and want to see more, be sure to let me know. I'm happy to keep blogging if there are people who are interested.

 

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.

 

Family Frolic / Cocoa Daisy

The WrinkLee's (my parents) were in town visiting recently and we went on a little "frolic". Despite the rain in the forecast, Michael thought a stroll in a park we had taken the kids to years before would be a good idea. And it was a good idea. It would have been a better idea 30-45 minutes prior however. Our walk was cut very short by the looming grey clouds that grew darker and darker. We made it back to the vehicle just in time as big, fat drops began to fall! This page documents those pre-downpour moments together.

We took a lot of family pictures and I wanted to document those moments together. You wouldn't know looking that a few of these pictures the grey clouds that were heading our way, imminently about to dump buckets and release hail! The first few minutes were truly lovely - that calm before the storm. And what better way to document those early spring moments that with the March Cocoa Daisy kits. The kit comes with some wonderful fringed butterflies from Maggie Holmes. I wanted more and decided to set out on making some mock butterflies. I did a quick video tutorial that you can find on my YouTube channel. I'll link the direct video here too.

Really all you need are some patterned papers and fringe scissors. It's super easy to do! If you had a butterfly punch you could do the same thing as I did here. I just happened to want to a similar size to the Maggie Holmes butterflies so used a digital cut file instead. What the video doesn't show is that once the butterflies were finished, I used my Souffle pens on the black body to add some "body paint" for some added pizzaz!

You can see that "body paint" on the body of the butterfly much better in the pic above. If you try this, link me up and share your butterflies inspired by my quick tutorial, I'd love to see how yours turned out! If you have questions about my process, don't hesitate to ask!

The print and cut files that accompany the March kit are, as always, superb! They really are worth the subscription to the kit! The kits are fantastic but the subscriber extras truely take the kits to another level! It's so fun to have those extras! That doodles cloud from the print and cut files is my favorite! I know I will use that again and again. This is not the first time I've used it! Nor will it be the last!

Thanks for stopping in today! I hope you and your family have had some fun frolics lately!

 

 

Together / Cocoa Daisy Sketch Inspired

It's time for the monthly sketch challenge which I am sharing over at Cocoa Daisy today. You can find the sketch and two of the other designers' layouts HERE.

Gotta tell you, I was relieved to see that there weren't circles on the sketch this month! I did struggle with the sketch this month as it was rather disproportionate to me. I made it work though, that's the beauty of sketches! I just love the DITL cards and used them here on the layout along with that awesome title and the leaves which came from a BYOAO - Doodlebug Odds & Ends.

I pop dotted the title up for a little added depth and dimension to the layout. I just love the colors, so rich and so much depth to them. That chevron journal card from the DITL kit really was the color inspiration for this layout. See the little bit of the wood note pad sticking out from the bottom of the layout? I think you find bits and pieces of that through out layouts to come, I'm a fan!

Please pardon the empty journaling spot. I'm still waiting on Michael to do something about that glaring white void on my layout. He thinks he's going to mess it up and doesn't want to write on the layout... I told him the kids would appreciate seeing his handwriting years from now. Someday, perhaps, it will say something. Hopefully before the memory is forgotten.

I would love for you to join us and play along! Be sure to check out the October Cocoa Daisy kits - there are still some available!

Spectacular / CocoaDaisy

Yup... another hiatus from the blog. Unintentional. Again. The kids are back in school. The kids are back at the pool. There are random back to school things that need obtaining. There is a lost pair of glasses that needs replacing. This makes you think about the other child who doesn't have a current back up pair of glasses. Sneakers still need to purchased. Your weekend to work occurs. There just aren't enough hours in a day. Ages old gripe and complaint... I'll cease now!

This month's Cocoa Daisy Designers challenge is up on the blog, over HERE. Be sure to check out the challenge and what some of the other designers did. Play along! You don't have to use Cocoa Daisy kits, you just have to have your scrappy skills and create a CD account in the message board. Or link up to it on the blog. It's dead easy!

Many of you know from my Facebook or IG account that our big family vacation this year was 9 days out in Sequoia/Yosemite. It was absolutely, utterly outstanding. The views, vistas and experiences were stunning, breath taking, other wordly. We had a phenomenal time! This picture! And the thousands of other landscape pictures I took over a week are but a mere attempt at capturing the exquisiteness of the natural beauty and serenity. Sure, there were a million other people in the parks (we were there on the anniversary week of the 150th birthday of the National park System - we even sang happy birthday) but it wasn't heaving as one would think. And you certainly had enough space of your own to feel like you were many, many miles away from "others".

Fussy cutting and sewing! Two things one frequently finds on my layouts. I just love the sequins that came with the September kits from Cocoa Daisy!

A little cluster of goodies at the bottom of the page for some grounding. The "love this" is a Day in the Life 3x4 card that I cut up and made my own. I have abandoning the rest of the card but I know I'll find a use for it elsewhere. This Reset Girl collection from Simple Stories that is a good chunk of the September kit was perfectly suited to my August vacation. We reset in so many ways on this vacation!

This Autumn / Stamping with Cocoa Daisy

Another great Cocoa Daisy month! Today some of the design team gals are sharing how they one, two or three of the stamp sets (possible even four if you count the Planner kit that I don't get) on projects today. I have a layout not only using THREE of the stamp sets but cards from the Day in the Life kit, the exclusive patterned papers, print and cut files and the digital cut files and other great kit goodies! Talk about a lot of goodness all on one page!

Each of the circles is a pocket card that I punched using a 2 inch punch other than the two with the "take a message" circular stamp which is just on white cardstock. I love that you can use the pocket cards for things other than their intended use. Smaller canvases that are great on their own in pockets or on layouts as modified canvases.

I used the dotted line to create another layer between the bigger strip and the thinner, green strip at the top of the layout. I could have easily traipsed upstairs and stitched a line but decided that the stamp would allow me to have a similar look without having to leave my scrappy space! Stamp for the win!

Above is a stamp from the exclusive stamp set from the Build Your Own options this month. Having just spent 9-10 days out at Sequoia and Yosemite and a lot of time outdoors, I just knew I NEEDED this stamp set for out outdoor adventures. I have used it a lot already. You will certainly see it scattered as a continuous theme through out my vacation pages. Look at the detail in that stamp! So crisp and clean! And, of course, the digital cut file and the "this" from the exclusive print and cut files.

The smaller pine cone stamped on the green circle is also from the exclusive set I mentioned above. The numbers that I used to stamp the year are from the Day In the Life kit. Also in the stamp set are the days of the week. Just perfect for pocket scrapping or planners for that matter. I also used the main stamp set to create that little label that the birdie is sitting on and fussy cut it. Looks just like a die cut label, doesn't it?!

Fun with circles and stamping today! Do you stamp on your layouts? I used to be really afraid to do it... I was terrified that I would make a mistake and that would be that for the layout... There is no room for disaster with my Type A personality. I have truly grown more comfortable with it as I stamp more and more on my layouts. I almost can't create a layout unless I have stamped on it these days.

Crabtree Falls / Stamping with Cocoa Daisy

Thanks to another design team I am on, I've grown to love stamping on my layouts. When I saw the stamps from the main Cocoa Daisy kit this month, I just KNEW I had to use the stamps for a background. And they are just perfect for this layout of a recent trip to Crabtree Falls - our most recent outdoor adventure.

There are a myriad of other bright, fun colors in this month's kit but I really wanted the earthy green and browns of being in the woods and hiking up to the waterfall. Pops of blue for a little pick me up, keep you engaged. I just love the way this turned out!

There is a companion 12x12 page that accompanies this that is yet to come. I used the same stamps on the other page. Tune in around the 16th for the companion page. I could have made a pocket page spread of the millions of pictures that I took but instead settled for the two mismatched pages. LOL! Depending on how time goes and how much story gets told between the two, I might still do the pocket page spread.

Be sure to head over to the Cocoa Daisy blog HERE and see what some of the other designers did with these and the DITL kit stamps!