Well…it is Wednesday again…and that means another fabulous sketch over at www.twistedsketches.com – the “twist” for this week’s sketch was REMEMBER.  Here is one of very few photos of a younger me…my 2nd birthday party to be exact.  This photo is one of only 2 (the other with serious water damage) that I can find of this memorable occasion !

To see the original sketch for this click HERE!  Be sure and come over to www.twistedsketches.com and play along with us! Be sure and up-load a direct link to your layout under the comment section under Twisted Sketch #82 so we can all admire your brilliance!

Here are some up-close photos:

Supplies used here include: Tim Holtz grungeboard flourish; Delta Dreamcoat Acrylic paint in Carribean, Pink Silk & White; a 12 x 12 piece of cardboard; Kaisercraft “Dynasty” paper and Prima’s “Flirty Little Secret”; Colorbox Chalk Ink; CTMH marker in “Watermelon”; Corrugated Alpha (number 2) from Jillibean Soup; K & Co “Serendipity” flower stickers; “boutique” buttons & loop border sticker from Doodlebug Design’s “Fancy Frills”; musical note scalloped border from The Girls Paperie; and glittered transparency frame from GCD/Melody Ross’ “Homespun Chic.”  *The little dog actually came off the box my daughter’s Barbie came in…she tried to rip it off the page when she saw it, and then decided to “give” it to me.

TFL my friends!

It’s a bit late but I wish everyone the Happiest of Holidays. 

Here is the project I made for my in-laws for Christmas!  I can safely post it now because I know they finally received it!   Merry Christmas Shirley & Dave!

I used the Bo Bunny Noel kit for this…it included the 16 x 20 canvas.  I added a beautiful Petaloo poinsettia and glittered leaf spray…everything else came in the Bo Bunny kit! 

I can finally share some VERY EXCITING news!!!  I have been chosen to join the Design Team  for the monthly scrapbook kit club, SCRAPS OF DARKNESS! 

As the Scraps of Darkness website so eloquently puts it,  ” Scraps of Darkness specializes in bringing you monthly kits designed for scrappers who love dark layouts, steampunk, grunge, and other alternative themes.  If you like the industrial look, distressed, grunge or “dark” layouts, look no further, because we are the kit club for you.  Our kits, along with our talented design team, sketches, tutorials, forums, and gallery will fuel your artistic side !” 

 To check out this AWESOME kit club, be sure and click on the link or banner!!! 

I love making these magnetic, perpetual calendars.  I made one for Saylor’s Pre-K teacher and now made one for Saylor’s kindergarten teacher.  I try to use as many “recycled” items as I can find. 

All of the numbers have been made magnetic so they can be changed around from month to month….. I also made the different “street” months to be changed out, and are kept on the back of the calendar.

You should also notice that there is a 25 on the back…the little present can be changed out for people’s birthdays (in this case the present was used for Christmas) but on subsequent months…the black domino would be used for the “25.” 

The little present is a little matchbox that I wrapped up as a present…it can be opened to hide a small gift or birthday/Christmas wishes.

Here are some up-close photos of the numbers made into magnets.

I bought the metal Stop Sign at Hobby Lobby for right around $5 when they have their wall decor 50%.  I gridded out the calendar with a ruler and drew the lines with a fine-tip Sharpie black marker.  I added some clear stickers…I think they are from Creative imaginations.  I used a roll of magnetic strip tape that I purchased at Hobby Lobby to make the magnets.  TFL!

The latest sketch is now live over at www.twistedsketches.com. The “twist” for this week’s sketch was “pop-dots” any how or any way that inspires you to create.  To view the sketch click HERE.  Come on over and join in on this challenge…it’s a great sketch!  Be sure and up-load a link to your creation directly under the sketch’s comment section so we can all admire your brilliance!

I decided to use actual Pop-Dots as a design element here.  I used them on the swirls…for my flower center and as a border.  I’m really happy with the effect and will probably use them again in this manner.

Also, a complete tutorial on making this “quilted” flower will be posted on Keandra Willis’ blog Kreatorville in the near future…I will post an update when that occurs.

Here are my 2 babies hiding under Daddy’s desk in his office, a favorite hiding place when they were younger.

Supplies for this layout include:  blue polka-dotted paper from Echo Park; the bright pink paper is from Best Occasions, and the rest is all from the Paper Studio’s Poteeka Souflee.  The pop-dots used here were also from the Paper Studio.  The butterflies are Wall-Es.  Other supplies include: Watermelon ink from CTMH, Tombow Adhesive, Timeless Touches paper piercer, and Janlynn embroidery floss.

Here are some close-up photos:

Don’t forget to sign-up for my blog posts over at the right! Thanx for looking!  Wishing all of you the happiest of Holidays!

It is Wednesday again! and this week marks the debut of Twisted Sketch #78 over at www.twistedsketches.com ! The twist for this week’s sketch was FRAME, any how or any way that inspires you to create.  To view the sketch click HERE.  I loved this sketch (but I love them all) and I loved the twist! Here is my interpretation!

Here is a photo taken of me by one of my friends on my wedding day on the way to the Myriad Gardens!  Loved that old “gansta” car that we hired!  I loved my dress too! and loved this photo because I felt it really captured the shine of the silk.

I did A LOT of “framing” on this…..from the large intricate frame that I cut out of the “Gothic” Creative Imaginations paper, the transparency frame used on/around the photo from Best Creations Inc., the special circle and border punch technique I did (see post on November 27, 2010 for details on how this was done), and the Pink Paislee “Artisan Elements” I used to frame in the photo.

Here are some more up-close detailed photos:

I “fussy-cut” (isn’t that a fab word ) the flowers out of this beautiful paper that my mom gave me….I don’t know the manufacturer but I know she scored it at Michaels.  If I can find out who makes this gorgeous paper I will up-date this post. Up-date Thank you AMY! the paper is Ciao Bella by DCWV.

I used these gorgeous Pink Paislee “Artisan Element” dimensional stickers to frame in the photo, cutting some of them in half.

I pop-dotted the large frame so that it would give the page some dimension.  And, like most layouts…I think it looks so much prettier in real life!

A complete list of supplies I used here include: Paper: Ciao Bella by DCWV, Creative Imagination’s “Gothic” by Marah Johnson, GCD’s Paris Nights, & pink paper (circle) from Anna Griffin; Martha Stewart’s “Deco” corner edge punch; Pink Paislee’s Artisan Elements; Best Creation Inc.’s transparency frames; tiny font Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Ink in Vintage Photo; & Kaiser Craft’s adhesive pearls.

Come on over to the www.twistedsketches.com site and join us in this sketch challenge! Be sure and up-load a direct link to your layout under the comment section on the Twisted Sketches site so that everyone can admire your awesomeness I cannot wait to see your brilliant creations! TFL! 

Don’t forget to sign up to my blog over in the right hand column so that you can receive an e-mail anytime I upload a new project! 

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!