October Afternoon Sketch Challenge with Lexi

Hey everyone, today I'm joining in with Lexi over at the October Afternoon blog.  She has a new sketch up and asked me to participate in creating a new project using it.  I chose to create a card based off of the sketch.  I love how sketches can be interpreted for any type of project you want to create, whether it be a scrapbook layout, a card, a notebook, etc.  

For my card, I used products from the October 9 to 5 collection.  I love anything with an old time-y office product feel and the 9 to 5 collection is just perfect and fun!  

I loved the 4 square grid element on Lexi's sketch.  It's the perfect place to use 4 different patterned papers, stickers, labels, tags or whatever little tidbits you have from a collection.  A grid design allows you get mixy matchy with product but yet they're all grouped together in a nice, uniform layout. For my squares I used papers from the 8 x8 Paper Pad, a sticker from the Word Stickers sheet, + the Day Washi Tape.  I tied it all up with a long length of black and white baker's twine.  

The little grouping of elements in Lexi's sketch allowed for the perfect little placement of more, tiny accents.  I used pieces from the Word Stickers sheet, + Designer Brads.  The strip of floral paper sewn along the right side of my card also follows Lexi's sketch.  I used a bracket punch to follow my office theme for the card.

The background of my card uses a page from a 1946 book called "The Silent Secretary", a cute little date book that I've been hoarding for some time.

Hope you enjoyed my take on the sketch.  Thanks for the challenge, Lexi!

You can find the October Afternoon 9 to 5 collection at 2Peas here.  Also the October Afternoon Witch Hazel Halloween line is 25% off right now, a perfect time to add items to your Halloween stash of goodies.

In my shop news, I've got my card kits on sale for 20% off + Halloween/Fall items are on sale too.

October Afternoon Sketch Challenge

Hey there friends.  Today I've got two blog posts happening.  This is my first post for the day so be sure to scroll up to the top of my blog to catch my Project Life blog hop post.  

Today I'm joining in on a sketch challenge with Roree.  You can see her sketch and finished project over at the October Afternoon blog along with the Pinterest photo that inspired her challenge.  Roree's sketch reminded me of an idea I've been wanting to implement for a long time so the timing was perfect.  I've been wanting to make mini collages that I could plop right on a card front for quick and easy cards.  

I used the sketch to create these three pieces below.  All of my products are from the OA 9 to 5 collection, one of my all time favorites from October Afternoon.  I used a piece of patterned paper for the base and then added journaling cards, my own Instagrams of my vintage typewriter, brads and other little tidbits. I just kept layering and stitching items in place.  I also used some of the 9 to 5 stamps on the card fronts.  

Here's my three finished cards, all with a fun office themed look.  I simply added my finished collages then added Washi tape and stitched on a strip of OA patterned paper to the bottom of the cards.  

The cards are loaded with detail like the mini paper clips from my stash, machine stitching, little tidbits and more.  

 The Washi tape at the top of the card fronts followed the sketch perfectly.

 The brads give a great dimension to the cards and become the accent piece where the butterfly is on Roree's sketch.

 Lots of little stickers and tidbits + some stamping finish off the cards where the journaling is on Roree's sketch.

 A fun sketch which sparked a idea that has been brewing for a while.  Thank you Roree for having me play along.  I hope all of you give it a try!

Creativity...the process vs. the product

Wow, I'm finally able to sit down to work on a blog post. This past week was filled with purging and getting ready for a big garage sale we had yesterday. SO, so glad that is over. I'm energized now to purge more and get my house more organized. I have some more thoughts on this but that will be for another blog post.

Today I have some projects that are the result of a stamping session that happened all for the sake of creativity. Now that I'm not currently designing for a company that sells stamps, papers, embellishments, etc I am afforded the opportunity to just create. To just see what happens down in the craft department. It's been nice to see what happens and to see what evolves when there's no pressure to use a certain product.

And that brings up my main thought for today.....the process versus the product. What happens when you don't focus on using any certain products? Have you sat down and created something that isn't for a challenge or to see what other people think? If you're a blogger, have you created with the mindset that this project is for me? Not for anyone else to see on my blog? I think that sometimes we are so caught up in what we should be creating or how a project should look or what products we should be using that we forget about our own true style. That we forget about how fun and nurturing the creative process is in itself.

So with all that said, I'm going to share my projects with you today. But keep in mind that these cards were created with the idea that I just wanted to create something. Nothing else. You might enjoy the thought process I share along the way.....and I hope you are inspired to create just for the sake of making something.

For my projects I used a collection of My Mind's Eye papers, stamps and embellishments that I recently ordered from 2Peas. Please leave a comment if you have any questions about a certain product.
I also had this sketch laying around that I created so I used it as a creative starting point.
First up I just wanted to be creative. I had lots of fun patterned papers to work with but I wanted something that looked handmade and a little artsy. I reached for a striped MME stamp, 3 colors of inks and a small misting bottle full of water.
Here's what I ended up with. Fun strips of striped patterns that have a water colored look to them. I just inked up my stamp with the lightest yellow, then the orange then the dark pink color......then misted with water....then stamped the image on strips of cardstock. Again, just for fun, just for the sake of being creative and to see what I could come up with.
So next I got started with my first set of cards. In keeping with the sketch, I used a large Papertrey label die that I cut from patterned paper + a neutral cardstock. I'll end up using one half from each for my cards. The main focal point of these cards will be the large label image with some stamping and lots going on in the foreground.
Once I had my labels kind of pieced together, they didn't stand apart from the base card very much. So I decided to stray from the sketch a bit and created a background using ledger paper from my stash + a few scraps and some Washi tape. Just layered quickly onto the background piece and then stitched. This got me very excited to just take a creative session to just make backgrounds. Again, the creative process came into play much more than any product I was using. So fun!
And here's 3 finished cards that I made, using the sketch + my handmade water colored strips + some fun accents and popped up stamp images. I really do like how these turned out.
Those scrappy little backgrounds got me so intrigued that next I wanted to create some cards that focused more on the background than a large focal image. These came together very quickly by just adding some of the leftover watercolor striped paper I made, some Washi tape, some scraps of paper and a few Small White Tags.
When working on the first cards, I felt a little confined to my detailed sketch. So this time I just rolled with whatever popped into my head. I reached for some Dainty Doilies, stamped up a few Grid Paper Labels and then stamped some MME flowers onto punched circles. I didn't quite know how my cards would come together but I just let the creative process take place. I knew these cards would just go into my stash so whatever came about was just fine.
And here's the end result. I love how quickly these came together versus the time it took me to put together the cards using the sketch. But I loved working on both sets of cards. Sometimes it's detailed that you want, other times it's quick and easy. Notice that I also made a coordinating envelope using some Washi tape and Studio Calico stamp (which I cut apart to fit my liking).
For a final set of cards I wanted to explore the handmade backgrounds a little more. I like the idea of starting with a piece of "something" that has a pattern on it. Above I used my ledger papers and this time I reached for some Library Cards. I didn't have a plan for the card design but I liked the idea of using the stamped Grid Paper Labels again along with some tiny stamped labels.
I started out by laying on strips of paper and Washi tape on the base card. They needed a little pattern to start off with. Next I just worked on layering stuff to the library cards. At this time they are not attached to the card fronts. The fun part of this process is that you can work on the background piece and get it all finished before attaching to the card.
This way you can layer and wrap tapes around the back of the piece and even machine stitch and staple on the piece without it all showing on the inside of the finished card. You can look at the above photo and then how I added more layers and stitching to the piece in the photo below. This might be a new favorite way to make cards.....all because I just let the creative process flow with no finished product in mind.
And heres's my two cards. I topped the layered background with more Washi tape, the stamped Grid Paper Label, hand cut/stamped flowers and some Studio Calico wood veneer hearts. Notice how I let the small "memo" label hang over the edge of the library cards. The labels look like they flow from one layer to the next. That's an easy way to tie the background layer and the main base card together.
And one more thing that was was fun to do....I cut tiny strips of Washi tape and used them over and under my flowers and veneer hearts. I love this look and will be using this technique again soon. Amazing how you discover little creative tidbits when you sit down to just make something.
And that's it for today. I really enjoyed this creative session because it was just fun and I had no deadlines, no criteria to follow....it was all about the process. I hope you give it a try. :)

This week:

The girls have more volleyball practices and then it's back to school later in the week. Both my reds are going to be in high school now....and driving.....and dating boys....OH MY! I have to say that I really love teenagers (if they're not bratty and annoying, that is). They make me feel young again and full of adventure. I'm looking forward this school year!

Etsy Kit Creations....

This week, I have two new kits in my Etsy shop. The first one is my Ledger & Lace Kit which is packed full of sample ledger, dictionary, sheet music, and school book papers, paper doilies, tags, punched items, clips, coin envelopes, index journaling cards and more. You can use it to create unique journaling cards, collages, tags, gift wraps, scrapbook pages, etc.

I also have my Butterfly Notebook Kit which is perfect for creating a gift for a friend, teacher, etc. Kit comes unassembled so some cutting, scoring and assembly is required.
I've got a few samples to show you some creations I made from the two kits. First I used some items from the Butterfly Notebook Kit & and the Ledger & Lace Kit to make a get well card for one of the girls' friends. She had a bad bout of the flu and then had to have emergency surgery to remove her appendix. She definitely needs a cheery card. As with any of my kits, you can use them in a mixy matchy sort of way. My card uses a mix of the butterfly embellishment, patterned papers and splattered cardstock from the notebook kit plus I pulled some elements from the Ledger & Lace Kit. I used one of my favorite sketches to speed up the creative process. You can see the assembled notebook on the left which uses all items from the notebook kit.
I love to personalize cards for teenagers. I think they love to see their names on items. Plus Brittney loves butterflies so I know she'll like her card from the girls.
The Feel Better Soon sentiment is from Papertrey's Think Big Favorites #10. Card base is Kraft cardstock. Butterfly was created with the Signature Series: Butterfly die.
I switched gears and did a grouping of journaling cards for a Project Life week with items from the Ledger & Lace Kit. I think it's a great idea to have some handmade journaling cards ready from time to time. This particular grouping will be used as a coordinating set for one week of Project Life. I'll mix in other journaling cards from my Project Life kits to fill in the blank spots.
This is a 4 x 6 main, dated card that I'll add the stamped date to and maybe a few chipboard letters for a weekly title. The base insert is from a Project Life kit. Manila tag, Kraft punched label and pewter star are from the Ledger & Lace kit.
Here, I embellished some grid journaling cards from Project Life. From the kit, I used book paper, a punched Kraft circle and a snippet of a paper doily.
All of the chipboard elements on the above cards are from My Mind's Eye line of Fun Day elements, shown below. I'll most likely mix in a few more of the papers & embellishments for this particular week. I got all my MME goodies from 2Peas.

Next, I created some single journaling cards using Ledger & Lace Kit items. I'll use these cards when I just want to pull one from my stash. On the left I used a grid sack with a large manila tag insert. The front of the sack was embellished with a piece of ledger paper from the kit + a scrap of patterned paper, Washi tape, misting with a Studio Calico mask and an Ali Edwards stamp. The right journaling card features a stitched journaling card and a small coin envelope with a book paper flap, Washi tape border and pull out tag.

Both of these cards will be interactive by being able to pull out the tags and adding small photos or journaling. For the right card, I stapled a stamped Large White Tag to the coin envelope, enabling the viewer to pull the entire piece out of the journaling slot. A small tag will be inside with a little story.
Here I used two journaling cards that I created using index cards with rounded corners. Lots of pieces and parts from the kit were used like the metal clip, 2 halves of some stamped circles, and green ledger paper. These will mix and match with any week and I'm going to love being able to have some journaling cards already made up. If you have a stack of the grid journaling cards from Project Life, you can easily use my Ledger & Lace kit to make up dozens of pre-made cards to have on hand.
And that's it for today. I've been busy quilting and we pretty much living at the basketball gyms in the evenings. With both girls full into the basketball season now, we spend 3-4 nights watching their games.

Daily December:

I've had requests for some December Daily updates. I've been taking photos and getting little stories ready but it's kind of a work in progress right now. With our schedule being so heavy with school functions right now, there aren't a lot of other holiday events going on for us. I'm debating for next year if I should just fit it all into my Project Life album by adding smaller insert pages.

Project Life Updates:

I have lots. And lots. I'll be scattering those in here and there soon. Stay tuned to hear how much I've been catching up....... :)

Cards from Project Life Leftovers....

Hey guys. Follow along with me. :) For this month's Papertrey release, I really loved this card from this post. The layout was linear and graphic + it was a great way to use up small bits and pieces of scraps.
So I made this sketch so that I could refer to it often.
Then I made these cards + tags from all my Project Life leftovers that were scattered about my work table. The tags will be used for Etsy orders and were made from my Small Gray Parcel Tags + some fun, old fashioned yarn.
This card uses scraps from Sassafras + items from my Studio Calico kits + a typewriter image from Hero Arts + baker's twine + a White Metal Rim Tag. Love the neutral, earth tone colors.
And do you have lots of tiny alphabet stickers? I know you do. Here I stitched on some letters that I know I'll rarely use. It's a fun way to add some type to projects + it uses up leftover product.
This card features more from my Studio Calico kits + an embellished Small White Tag + an Amy Tangerine sticker from American Crafts. That sticker book is jam packed with stickers. My favorite new trick is to stitch down the white tags and then staple the strings down with my Tiny Tim stapler.
More baker's twine + Amy Tangerine fabric paper in the cool chevron pattern + some mistable fabric + vintage lace from my stash. All stitched down. A few sprinklings of Mister Huey on each card and these were done in a flash.
Two new cards for my stash. I think I'll try to make a few cards each time I wrap up a Project Life layout. It's a good plan. Hope you give it a try.
Sooo, tell me. How is your Project Life coming along? Are you caught up? (ya right).....are you working to get caught up (raises hand).....are you loving it (that's me).....or are you just now thinking about starting Project Life (order a new kit, they're coming soon, you'll love it).

Other news: All orders placed from Sunday up to yesterday from my Etsy shop were shipped yesterday. Wow, thank you for your orders. I'll be re-stocking the fun bags soon.

Halloween Treat Kits: Look for some fun Halloween treat kits in the shop soon. I'll be using some brand new sacks + some new Elle's Studio Halloween goodies.

Holiday Mini Album pre-orders: Look for a blog post yet this week. I'll be showing a sneak peek of items from the album, including pretty papers, handmade items + more. Pre-orders will start this week.

Sketches as tools....

When I think of what kind of newsletter post I want to do, I often try to think up new and creative ideas. Some new technique to show. A new way to use your products. Something new, and fresh, and innovative. Aside from all the fun stamps and tools that we have in our crafty spaces, I think we often overlook a very important tool that doesn't cost a thing. It's a sketch. A sketch can provide oodles of new ideas if you just think outside the box a little. Let your creativity blossom and interpret the sketch in different ways. Use a sketch on a card and then try it out with a tag or a scrapbook page. Today I'll be using the single sketch below for 4 different projects.

I'm also showcasing Vintage Picnic + Vintage Picnic Sentiments....a fun set that Nichole and I collaborated on a while back. And now it's even better because this month Papertrey released the much requested Vintage Picnic Basket die.
To start out I created two cards using the same basic supplies...scalloped border dies, Vintage Picnic + Vintage Picnic die, PTI sentiments + patterned papers.
My first card follows the sketch pretty closely. I had a tiny version of this sketch doodled in a notebook. Many times I'll take a sketch book to bed with me at night or bring a pad of grid paper in the car with me and sketch while waiting on the reds. As you can see the elements on my card do not vary much from the sketch. A few fun things to note are the combination of sentiments that have the words *notes* in them. I dug out my Take Note set for a few more sentiments to mix + match on my card. If you zoom in you can also see that instead of paper strips or tape I used a paperclip and pencil stamp in the upper right hand corner of my card. The idea behind a sketch is to interpret it however you wish. Follow it closely or mix things up a bit with some creativity.
My second cards uses the sketch turned sideways. Same basic idea and supplies but this time I added die cut and stamped apples from Fruit Fusion: Apple along with a fun sentiment from Say It With Style. The little strips on the bottom left were replaced with a strip of patterned paper that was notched on one end + has the sentiment stamped on top.
Next up I used the sketch to inspire some scrapbook pages. I'm just thinking on a bigger scale here but same basic idea. Many of my stamped, focal images are now photos. This 8.5" x 11" page uses the sketch in it's original orientation.
Just a few strips of patterned paper + a scalloped border die + Piney's All-Star Team and All-Star Team Additions stamp sets. The sentiment is stamped on a Label Basics stamped die. Perfect for a page insert in my Project Life scrapbook album.
And here I used sketch turned totally upside down to the do the back side of the above layout. All photos in my two layouts feature the girls' track events so I wanted to keep the supplies fairly similar and easy.

I used a Label Basics die to place the sentiment from All-Star Team Additions plus a few additional stars from All-Star Team.
So as you can see, sketches are such a valuable tool to have on hand. I'd like to say that all my sketches are in one notebook....but they're not. I'm a notebook-aholic. I have lots and lots and I tend to just pick up the closest one and start sketching.

How do I come up with sketches? Most of my card sketches are my own original ideas but I also like to find sketches from websites and blog. Magazine ads and little flyers also provide great inspiration. Sometimes I create card ideas from scrapbook layouts I see....one little thing will spark an idea. You just never know when a good sketch idea will come along.

Feel you're not creative enough to make your own sketches? That's okay...there are tons of blogs and websites and books available that already have sketches. You can join in on some sketch challenges too if you're in a rut. Sometimes I feel that it's not new tools or cool, new papers that we need.....we just simply need a fun new idea. Sketch challenges are a great way to break you out of your typical mode of creating too. You might just find a new favorite card or scrapbook page layout to use. And remember to think outside the box. Get fun and funky with your embellishments....use only a part of the sketch if that's what you like. Rotate and flip the sketches. It's all good.

I hope you try out my sketch and maybe start creating your own sketch notebook if you're feeling creative. You can see a few more of my sketches at this link too. Be sure to link up your projects in my comments section. I'd love to see them.