Sunday Sketch

Puppy Love- Studio Calico 1.20.13 Sunday Sketch

January 30, 2013

This is exactly my kind of sketch!

Oh, the structure. The grid. The alignment. It all makes me happy! So very happy!!!! I just love all of those things. I love how it all works together and feels connected. I bet I will be keeping this sketch around to refer back to every now and then.

I made some changes to the sketch since I didn’t have 6 photos for the layout so I shuffled things around and put the title in the area where a photo normally would have gone and then some embellishments in another. I didn’t put the title on a pattened paper block because I had the woodgrain alphas that I really wanted to use, since they matched the tone of the patterned papers I was using.

Get ready to see A LOT of doggy based layouts now. We are so excited to get our puppy on Saturday!

Happiness Right Here- Studio Calico 1.13.13 Sunday Sketch

January 29, 2013

at least I like the photo in this layout.

–1.13.13 Sunday Sketch–

Not my favorite layout. That’s just the way it is. I liked the sketch but I just was rushing with this and it shows- at least I think so. I still had fun stamping and punching out the clouds.

I dunno, I shouldn’t bitch about this layout. I had enjoyed making it (quickly) and it was just nice to make something. You can’t get better at something without making a mistake or just not liking everything along the way either. I think the thing that I don’t like is that I used that stamp as the title. Maybe I’ll redo it. Probably not tho. I’m lazy.

At least I got to use up some random scraps of patterned paper punching out the clouds. Thinking positively here. 🙂

Happiness Now- Studio Calico 1.6.13 Sunday Sketch

January 8, 2013

Another year you made a promise
another chance to turn it all around
and do not save this for tomorrow
embrace the past and you can live for now
and I will give the world to you

For the past few years whenever I think of new years or a big change this Ian Axel song pops into my head. I’ve seen him perform several times and he is the kind of performer that gives me chills. Might have cried during gone. okay, every time.

Anyway, it’s a new year. It’s time to wipe the slate clean and start over where possible. I did just that this weekend. I reorganized my scrapbooking workstation. I liked it before since everything was at arms reach and I was facing out the room (I don’t like to be startled- I will pee my pants). But it really was taking up way too much room with that configuration so I reworked it and cleaned up my supplies. I’m about 95% done so I’m happy with what I accomplished and how it looks. I even hung up a few pictures. so now I’m feeling inspired and i am going to kick some crafty butt.

Starting things off I did a layout for my take on Studio Calico’s first Sunday Sketch of the new year. I really tried to stick with the Sunday Sketches last year but when we moved things really fell flat on their face. I’m hoping I get further along in the year. Wish me luck.

–1.6.13 sunday sketch–

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True Love LO- 3.18.12 Sunday Sketch

March 20, 2012

–3.18.12 Sunday Sketch–

So I am a slacker. I’m not talking about my constant feet planted approached at taking the LEED test, but a craft/blogger slacker. My love for Studio Calico’s Sunday sketches is should be no surprise at this point since I have a whole page on the blog devoted to linking my take on the sketches on there. Well, if you noticed it’s been barely lately. I am good about doing the sketches but I don’t have the consistent follow through on scanning, photographing, posting, linking… hmmm I wonder why?!?!

Well this is a brand new Studio Calico Sunday Sketch so I rushed to do it, and actually follow through and post it. As soon as I saw the sketch I knew which layout I would use it for so I just dug through my ‘to scrap’ photos and got to work. It came together really quickly and I love when that happens. I made a mistake but shit happens so I made myself work with it instead of tossing the whole thing in the trash. Do you see it?

One of my favorite things about this layout is my use of FabRips. This was my first time using Studio Calico’s FabRips. I just never felt the need to use the product before. Mainly because I didn’t know how I would want to use it. I felt just needed to give it a try once and for all so I cut a strip and scrunched it up. I think I’ll def be exploring more with the pieces I have, but I know I definitely need to get this filmstrip FabRips!

The Boys LO- Studio Calico 12.25 Sunday Sketch

January 26, 2012

12.25.11 Sunday Sketch

I know that for most cases you should use the rule of 3 in photography and in design. In this case my only 3 were the boys in the picture! The page is divided in half but I think the fact that the photo is not centered helps this layout be so attractive and visually appealing.

I don’t typically stamp, which is strange since I have 150+ stamp sets from Stampin’ Up! and so many from Studio Calico. Plus my massive collection of inks. I am really going to try to make a point of stamping in my layouts this year. I am doing Project Life and I think it will start off being manageable in that and them creep into bigger layouts.

I took this photo after my niece’s first birthday. We celebrated right before Halloween, which is her birthday, which is why one of my nephews is wearing part of his costume. He was showing it off. Sure, I can have them stop and pose for me but whats the fun in always doing that? I want to capture these silly moments. In truth this was the best photo out of a dozen+ I took. The others were dotted with tongues sticking out, wide mouth yells, and rolled eyes. At least they are very lively!

5: Vested LO- Studio Calico 12.18 Sunday Sketch

January 15, 2012

12.18.11 Sunday Sketch

Super Simple. Too simple but it’s done. I used some scraps and whipped this up in just a few minutes. I liked that the sketch gave the opportunity to use up scraps since I have a massive box of them. I love any sketch that promotes that.

I used the 5 buttons to act like that vertical like that runs down the side of the sketch. I was thinking that having the buttons in a row would create that linear element on the page. I used the 5 colorful buttons as a play on the years I have been with The Big G and the colorful strips I used.

I hope to do a better job this year of staying with the Studio Calico Sunday Sketches as they are being posted, so far so good. As for posting them on the blog… soon, I swear!!

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Giant Santa LO- Studio Calico 12.4.11 Sunday Sketch

January 7, 2012

12.4.11 Sunday Sketch

As with the start of every year we make resolutions. I am taking this opportunity to mak one for my blog… I resolve to have more scrapbooking and craft posts. As I made my 2011 recap I realized that the topics of my blog posts were not equally divided. I was noticing that my blog was becoming more and more like a typical food blog, and that is something I don’t want. I love food blogs but I never set out to have one, and I didn’t like how it was evolving towards that. I want to blog about food, obviously, but I want my posts to be equally divided up among the topics of my life, crafting/scrapbooking, and food.

So, I am resolving to actually scrapbook and craft more and to actually put those projects on the blog. I have so many vacation mini books complete that I never posted because I got busy/lazy/bored/etc. I am warning you now that you will be seeing posts related to the mini books I made for Montreal, Charlotte, and Utah in the coming weeks. And I am starting with committing to more scrapbooking posts right now with this one about a giant Santa!

I started out making cards before I began scrapbooking so I was tempted to make a card when I first saw this sketches. But card making is not really my thing anymore so I went with a scrabooking layout instead. I was inspired by the lower right card sketch because I felt it had great composition for a layout. I love when things run up and down a page vertically.

I did this layout quickly and that is just the way I like it! I used a fun glittery patterned paper for the background, which I misted for a little fun. I used an evergreen colored cardstock for the photo border because it was like the trees in the photo. I pulled out that sticker embellishment because it was black and red, like on Santa, and it was circular, similar to the patterned paper. The cardstock embellishment was from an old Cosmo Cricket Christmas themed elements paper that I cut out from its background. I then added an American Crafts pearlized brad to it. A little piece of scrap paper, a tag, alphas, and a ribbon finish it off.

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Ribbit LO- Studio Calico 4.10.11 Sunday Sketch

December 7, 2011

–4/10 Studio Calico Sunday Sketch–

This layout has been sitting on my desk at work waiting to for journaling, then for it to be scanned and edited, photographed and edited, and then blogged for months. Well today is the day that it is finally getting done!

Ribbit! I used to only scrapbook big events- birthdays, holidays, parties, etc. But that was back when I had to buy film. Over time when digital cameras got better and developing became super easy, I have changed my outlook on scrapbooking. this is a quirky post about Pricer catching frogs in E’s backyard. What’s the big deal? Well, I want to look back at this page years and years from now and remember that moment. I was something that kinda took my breath away. I was so excited that I had Price repeat this over and over to the poor froggies for my amazement and for photo taking. I feel that I was not properly educated at camp… how did no one teach me how to pick up frogs?!?! Silly I know, but it totally made my morning.

(close up photos to come)

How to catch a frog:

1. Appoach it from the side, be careful not to cast a shadow on it or make sudden movements.

2. Carefully put your hand in the water. Slowly move your hand to be under the frog.

3. Slowly raise your hand under the frog until touching. If all has gone well at this point, lift frog out of the water slowly. Ta-da!!

Donut Love LO- Studio Calico 8.28 Sunday Sketch

November 16, 2011

– 8/28 Studio Calico Sunday Sketch-

The Sunday Sketch featured on 8/28 worked so well for what I had in mind for this layout about our visit to Doughnut Plant. Besides that I loved the doughnuts, I loved that they decorate the shop with plushy donuts, in both their round and square shapes, on the wall. I wanted to recreate that look on my layout.

Using scraps of patterned and solid papers I got to work punching them out with a square and circle punch. Then I used my crop-o-dile to punch the hole in the center to create the complete donut. After I arranged them I put a few of them on foam spacers to add a little dimension for the page. In addition to the donut accents, I added a sticker strip that I felt would also relate well to the donut shape.

I want a doughnut now…

The Fourth on the 3rd- Studio Calico 7/10 Sunday Sketch

September 5, 2011

Everything came together perfectly for this layout. I loved this Sunday Sketch once I saw it. I loved my instant photos. I loved the Studio Calico ‘Boardwalk’ kit when it arrived. I saw that paper and my heart skipped a beat. The hexagon/honeycomb gets me every time.

Scrapbooking these instant photos reminds me that I need to order more since they were my last 2 photos. Must put that on the to do list.

I made a mistake when I was writing the jouraling. I, as usual, had a ‘Nicole has shitty handwriting and you can’t read that word’ error so I had to make the choice of starting completely over or to grab another piece of paper and fix that one bit. Since I was in no mood to look for that olive green in my scraps bin, I picked a different green and made it work by mixing it into the journaling.

Boardwalk is still available. Buy it. Love it. Scrap it.

Month: 7- Studio Calico 4.3.11 Sunday Sketch

August 8, 2011

This Studio Calico Sunday Sketch, and the layout that generated the sketch, was something that I really enjoyed working with. I liked the large blocking of the papers that was mixed with smaller images. I feel that a sketch like this can generate a lot of different layouts because the focus, and creativity, could relate to the photos, the journaling, or the large title.

I love taking photos of my niece, but as in most cases with babies, the photos might not come out very well because of all her movement. Instead of just filing these photos away on my computer because they were not picture-perfect, I decided to use them. However, instead of using large 4×6 photos, I used smaller 2×3 photos that I made even smaller by trimming them. The fact that Cara is moving, and therefore blurry, shows how animated she is. That itself is part of the story.

This sketch allowed me to capture the beauty in my niece without letting the ‘flawed’ photos limit me. It also allowed me to play with the color yellow. No, there is not yellow in the photos but as I was going through the papers I had at hand I came across this sheet. I felt the background brown went well with the color of the sofa Cara was sitting on. From there I started to grab more yellow/neutral paper and embellishments.

Summer Lovin LO- 6.26.11 Studio Calico Sunday Sketch

July 22, 2011

I looked up when was the last time I posted a scrapbooking layout… April 25th! That is so damn horrible. I can’t believe it. But sadly that is the way things go. I have to prioritize packing all my stuff in May so craftiness was shoved aside. Then June was all about unpacking. But alas, packing is (almost) complete so I have some free time now to scrapbook.

Getting to create a space for my scrapbooking (to be blogged about at some point) took some time but it feels right. I feel comfortable using the desk station. I really see a lot of scrapbooking occurring there. I have already whipped out a few pages, one of which I am sharing now.

This layout is from a photo I took on the first day of summer. Out of all the photos we took this was the one that i loved the most. It was such a great night with Price that I wanted to feature him. (Plus the picture of me were crappy). The layout the sketch is based off of used a portrait photo but I just used a landscape one because, as always, a sketch is a jumping off point.

I love having all my supplies right at hand now. Because everything is in my face I took care in examining my supplies and using a wider variety than I typically would. I used quite a bit of supplies form my Studio Calico kits, such as paper and alpha stickers, as well as Stampin’ Up! paper and brads. The flag sticker is from Sassafras and the grasshopper ‘paper’ is the back of a business card from SC.