I’m so excited about this new challenge! I’ve been wanting to do more scrapbooking and this is just the push I need. Layouts are half the battle for me so this new challenge is the perfect solution. Every other Wednesday at CHF, we’re having a new layout challenge. Our first layout is designed by Lesley Langdon and I’m just loving it. I never would have thought of it myself! So I’m challenging you to play along! Just create your own layout inspired by Lesley’s and post it. Now when I say inspired…that means you have all kinds of freedom. Change it to suit your photos. I made mine a little larger and flipped the layout so that my photos would be on the right side. I thought for my photos, it just worked better that way. Make sure you link your layouts HERE so that we don’t miss any! We can’t wait to see!

In case you don’t already know…I wanted to tell you that this Saturday May 3rd is National Scrapbooking Day. We couldn’t let the day go by without having a little fun so we’ve planned some activities at Cornish Heritage Farms from noon till 3 EST. Chat with Becky Olsen and Kim Hughes, ask your scrapbooking questions, participate in some scrapping challenges, learn with a scrap tutorial and of course, we’d like to share some goodies with you…stop in for a chance to win some cool goodies. Not a scrapper? Stop by for the fun anyway and give it a whirl. We have some great ideas for getting started using supplies you already own as well as ideas for making it easy! It’s all happening in our Scrap Chat forum. Hope to see you there!
Beautiful Moments to Remember

I’ve been dying to use some of the new Basic Grey Sultry paper that I picked up at my local Scrapbook store the other day. This layout challenge worked perfectly for it and it was so simple to pull my color scheme right from that paisley paper. To create this design, I just kept working on it little by little to build up the elements. I think my favorite detail is the title. I stamped my Beautiful Moments to Remember sentiments with black Stazon onto a CHF Clear Card Sheet panel. I brushed on some white acrylic paint around the edges and under the words on the reverse side to make them stand out against the dark backdrop. Another fun idea I just had to try out was scrap-lifted from Becky Olsen. I just loved how she stitched here journaling lines on one of her layouts. As you know…I LOVE to stitch! My journaling was written with a white Signo gel pen. Not perfect, but I’m getting over that fear of writing on my layouts.

Jump in and play along with us. Here’s some of the other takes on this challenge…

-Lesley Langdon
-Kim Hughes
-Kristine Reynolds
-Becky Olsen
-Dawn Lusk
-Alli Miles
-Lisa Silver

Thanks for stopping in! Have a beautiful day!

Julia

Supply List:
Stamps:
-Beautiful sentiment and flourish from the Beautiful stamp set (THe Rummage Bin line) by Cornish Heritage Farms
-Film Strip stamp and scallops from the Photo Op stamp set (THe Rummage Bin line) by Cornish Heritage Farms
-Live Life Wisely sentiment from the Time to Stamp stamp set (THe Rummage Bin line) by Cornish Heritage Farms
-foliage from Nature Silhouettes (Kim Hughes line) by Cornish Heritage Farms
-Spanish Script Backgrounder by Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink:
Burnt Umber & Canvas Palette Ink by Stewart Superior
-Black Stazon by Tsukineko
-Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink by Ranger

Cardstock:
Pink and Suede Brown Dark by Prism Papers

Patterned Paper:
Sultry Line by Basic Grey

Accessories:
-CHF Clear Card Sheets by Cornish Heritage Farms
-dotted Gaffer Tape by 7 Gypsies
-flourish chipboard by Maya Road
-flowers by Prima Marketing
-buttons by My Mind’s Eye
-Shabby Shutters Distress Crackle Paint by Ranger
-clip by Making Memories
-ribbon by Creative Impressions
-white acrylic paint

Tools:
-corner rounder
-sewing machine

As I don’t have anything new to share with you until tomorrow, I thought I’d take this time to answer a few questions some of you asked a few weeks ago. I’m actually going to start by answering a quick question about the design I created yesterday. I was asked about applying the chalks to the inchies….how I went about it. It was really simple. No, I didn’t use Verasmark. I just used my little cotton balls that come with the I-kan-dee chalks to apply the chalk direct to the image after stamping. It really clings well to the white Inchies and was super quick to color. I’d say under 5 minutes for sure. The beauty of these chalks is the soft impressionistic look. They just blend beautifully. I found that the chalks mostly stayed put on the design but if you’re worried about them rubbing off, I’d spray them with a light coat of matte spray sealer before adhering to your design.

# Lori on 08 Apr 2008 at 2:57 pm

Do you find it tedious or time consuming to stitch on your cards? I guess what I’m asking is do you have your sewing machine ready and waiting all of the time? One more ? - do you think stitching on your cards is just a fad for now and will sort of fade away?

I really hope stitching doesn’t go out of style. I think I’d probably just go against the flow and still stitch away! I love to stitch and love the texture and interest it adds. It’s also great for shabby and vintage looks as well as country-style and even some fun funky styles. Also…stitching is the ultimate in cheap embellishing! As for finding it tedious…no! I don’t. I stitch quickly and it is so much quicker than hand piercing for faux stitching. Have you been peeking in my house? Sometimes I do keep my sewing machine up all week on the dining room table. I guess I never totally put it away…just tuck it in the corner when we need the room. I find that if I keep it threaded with white or brown thread, all I have to do is plug it in and start stitching.

Regina Davison 08 Apr 2008 at 3:24 pm

Happy Birthday, Julia! I hope you were able celebrate while grouting. LOL!

I’d like to know how long you’ve been stamping, and what got you started. Did you start by attending a SU workshop like most of us?

Take care - Regina

Thanks Regina! Hubby brought me home some Swiss Chalet and a lovely cake so while I did spend most of the night on my knees…it was great to get some progress made. We’re still working away on the kitchen but I hear that the rest of my cupboards will go in on Friday. Yay!

As for stamping, I’ve been stamping over four years now. After having my fourth child I was excited about scrapbooking again. I’d started scrapbooking as a hobby nine years ago and dabbled in it when I had the chance. Looking through magazines, I noticed a lot of stamping and techniques and thought it would be a fun addition to my pages. After purchasing some stamps at Michael’s, I saw a Stampin Up advertisement in a magazine. I went on-line and found my demo, Lori. Soaking up ideas in the catalogue, Lori clued me in to Splitcoaststampers. I lurked for a little while but once I borrowed my mom’s digital camera…started uploading my own designs. I’ve been hooked since. AS far as workshops go…I think perhaps I’ve been to a total of five and took my very first class a couple weeks ago. I’m so thankful for the on-line stamping community where I’ve made friends, learned techniques and found an outlet for my creativity.

Karen Reynoldson 08 Apr 2008 at 4:05 pm

I am amazed at all you do within the stamping world, while being a wife and mother. What is you secret to be so organized? How much time do you spend on your blog and others in a day? And how many hours do you slepp? LOL

Me? Organized?! Well I do try! Some days I succeed and others…… I keep a detailed calendar on my computer as well as lists and information I need to know. I also design very quickly which is a blessing for me as I wouldn’t be able to do this if I didn’t. I also multi-task where possible. As for my housekeeping…it has been more than a challenge with the renovation ongoing. I’m really trying hard to set aside time each day to sort and organize and try and get caught up again. Laundry I just do first thing every morning and meals work best if I plan the week ahead of time. As for free time…um…what’s that? I don’t watch tv. I also try and get up early as that is the most productive time of my day.

So…I’m sure that’s more than you all wanted to know! LOL Hope I didn’t put you back to sleep!

Hope you have an awesome day!

Julia

Well…I’m coming to this challenge VERY late! The other challenge designs were posted this morning at 10. Due to some family issues that cropped up, I had thought I’d just have to pass this one by. Well…I found myself with some design time this afternoon and also a new package of goodies. Don’t you love it when that happens?! Some fresh inspiration. I’m not sure if I’d have thought of this design without the challenge and my new goodies arriving but here it is. Actually…I’m pretty excited about this design. Thomas Kinkade plus Inchies plus Chalks….what do you think?!

The Heavens Declare…

This design was actually really fairly simple to do. Chalking is a great way to color the Thomas Kinkade images by Cornish Heritage Farms. This image is The Open Gate stamp. I inked it well with Stewart Superior Burnt Umber Palette ink. Before stamping my inchies…I added a tiny dab of adhesive on the back of my inchies and adhered them to a scrap piece of paper without any spaces between them. After inking, I simply stamped my image and made sure to get a good even pressure…actually…I used the floor and pressed down hard with both hands. Using my Pebbles Chalks, I lightly dabbed on color to create a soft faded misty look. I didn’t have the exact colors in chalks that Thomas Kinkade used on his painting but that is OK. Every garden is different!

After I finished, I carefully pried up each tile and adhered them to my Prism Kraft cardstock with a slight space between. My sentiment is actually from a different Thomas Kinkade release. I love how they can be mixed and matched in many instances. Finally…I simply adhered my image layer to a clean white card base.

Want to play along? Feel free! I’ve written a thread in the CHF forums HERE. For more great chalking designs…check out these links….

-Lisa Silver
-Kim Hughes
-Dawn Lusk
-Kristine
-Julie Campbell
-Lori Craig
-Lesley Langdon
-Valerie Stangle

Take care and have a great day!

Julia

Well, as Saturday just did not go as planned…I’m sharing this card design for Simply Sunday instead. After a crazy busy week of Backgrounder Blitzin’ I really needed to take a break. Add that to a touch of the flu that popped up late in the day,well…that’s life. Also, trying to find that balance between blogging, designing, working and family is always a challenge. I’ve said before that I may be posting slightly less in order to manage it all and I’m really going to have to follow through on that. So…if I don’t post every day like usual, everything is still good. Don’t worry.

Inspire Daisy

This simple design was inspired by a Di Hickman sketch challenge a couple weeks ago. Yes…I did make it then and am just getting around to posting it now. It’s a great simple design that is very flexible. Here’s the link.

Once again, I used my new Shady Daisy Backgrounder stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms to create this quick card. I hope you’re not tired of seeing it as I love it! The daisy backgrounder is simply stamped in black directly onto some Basic Grey “plain” patterned paper from Scarlet’s Letter 6×6 paper pack. The coordinating stripes run down the side. A Heidi Swapp flower and designer snap by We R Memory Keepers finish off this quick design.

Hoping your day is simply beautiful,

Today’s post is a quick one but with three designs to share with you. Before I do that I just wanted to tell you how excited I am about today’s Backgrounder Blitz Challenge. It’s the final one and the release of two beautiful new Backgrounder stamps from Cornish Heritage Farms. Now why am I so excited about this challenge? The stunning designs created for it of course! This challenge is Anything but a Card and if you’ve ever wanted some more ideas on how you can use Backgrounder stamps, this is the place!!!! I tell you…my eyes are still bulging! There’s still time to play along with the challenge.

As for the card designs…I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to create anything new that I’m able to share. These designs were all published in the March edition of Cards magazine and as it is now April, I can share them. Most of them are pretty quick cards to create. Don’t be afraid to create quick cards!

Flourished Thanks

(stamp set from Kitchen Sink Stamps)

Unite

Spring is in the Air

Happy Friday! Hope you have a great weekend!