The happy things we love to do when we are outside

Hello friends! :) I thought it was time to document the happy things we (my nephews and I) love to do when we are outside. We take a lot of walks around the neighbourhood...short walks though...it's tough with 3 boys and a camera...*LOL*...last week I brought them to the playground and it was the longest 45 minutes ever....so hard to keep an eye on every 'fearless' kid....(plus I was still recovering from the whole mooning incident...*LOL*)

Anyway, this is a mini album cover on 6X6 acrylic. This is the second one in my 6X6 acrylic book series. The first one was The Sew Book. I'm sure I will get to the inner pages eventually. *LOL* I find it tough to do mini albums because I find repetition difficult (as in the same page format so that the album looks cohesive). I only produce one-of-a-kind pieces...(according to me!)*LOL*.

The wood "frame" was upcycled from packaging. Patterned papers are from My Little Shoebox. Lots of 3D dots for dimension as inspired by my guest Donna's dimensional challenge. Various stickers. Wrinkle ribbon. MS edge punch. Edges inked with Stazon.

Happy weekend! :)

Basking in the morning light

My littlest nephew J. Day after his second birthday. Basking in the morning light. Oblivious to his own charm. :)

I doodled with a white pen for a little sunburst effect.

Love the patterned papers from Pink Paislee. All I did was stamp and add some fun embellishments by Gauche Alchemy. Stickers from 7 Gypsies, SRM stickers, Jenni Bowlin and American Crafts. 3D dots for dimension.

Inspired by the two-photo challenge at Scrap It Lah.

*Edited* I won this challenge at Scrap It Lah. Sweet! :)

P/s: I would love for you to play along with my guest Donna's dimensional challenge! :)

An umbrella is a must...and a challenge winner! :)

 

Hope you are having good weather wherever you are! It's either hot or wet here...*sigh* ...an umbrella is a must in any case...which is why I really took to Umbrella Alley, this cute digi from Bows and Berries! :) I dressed her up with some Gauche Alchemy embellishments. There's a new Bold and  Beautiful challenge up at the Bows and Berries blog. Come play along. There's a monthly digi freebie that you can snag at the sidebar too! :)

Daisy Bucket and My Little Shoebox papers, SRM stickers and Copics.

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A big thank you to those who played along with my guest Tesa's colouring challenge...

the winner (randomly selected) is...

#2 Janice with this adorable creation...

Congratulations Janice! Please send me an email with your mailing details so that I can get your Swedish goodies out to you! :)

P/s: Don't forget about my guest Donna's dimensional challenge! :)

Brrrum!

Brrrum! I love this photo of my littlest nephew J playing with the red Ferrari ...a little rite of passage for all my nephews. The oldest nephew has promised to buy me a real one when he starts work...I'm thinking they might have an eco-friendly version in 15 years eh? *LOL*

Paint splatters on kraft cardstock. A little handstitching. Did a little stamping with Technique Tuesday stamps.

 Check out that cute little calendar....I stamped some Stazon on shrink plastic and watched it shrink under my heat gun....sooooooo much fun (virgin shrinker here...*LOL*)

This was inspired by the challenge over at Mission to create. Patterned papers are from Pink Paislee.

Are you a morning person? :)

I'm a totally morning person. I love to wake up bright and early and get a ton of things done. When night falls, I get sleepy. *LOL* Are you a morning person?

Today's layout features my three nephews enjoying some morning sunlight in the garden.

The background cardstock was gessoed, inked with distress inks and then spritzed with water...so there are subtle blue streaks on the background. A little masking, stamping and handstitching. And blooms!

Some distressing on the edges. I added some Gimmer Glam for a little sparkle.

Prima papers. Tags. SRM stickers. Rub-ons. Distress inks. Gesso. Paper flowers. Stamp. Old book paper. Fabric strips. Heidi Swapp mask. Inspired by the sketch at Get Picky and the floral challenge at {Create} Make it happen.

P/s: I would love for you to play along with my guest Donna's dimensional challenge! :)

*Edited* I won the April challenge at {Create} Make it happen! :)

Happy Earth Day! :)

Happy Earth Day! :) It's Friday and time for another Get Sketchy card! 

This week's sponsor is Hazel Olive Designs. I printed my digi patterned paper on white cardstock. I left a little border all around and inked the edges. A little misting on chipboard. American Crafts rose ribbon. Prima canvas letters.

P/s: Come play along with my guest Donna's dimensional challenge! :)

On the horse

Hello friends! :) Today's layout was inspired by the latest challenge over at Scrapping The Music - the song Good Days by Alain Clark. It features my old brother on a stationary horse.

A really simple layout using My Little Shoebox papers. I scanned the photo and printed 2 on transparency to create a "multi-photo" layout. A little handstitching. SRM stickers. American Crafts thickers. Baker's twine. Buttons.

P/s: Don't forget about my guest Tesa's colouring challenge! It ends on Friday! :)

Another two-pager! :)

I must say that I am beginning to enjoy two-page spreads seeing that this is my second two-pager in 2 weeks! :) I had so much fun with this one and love that I got so many photos scrapped....even though you need a manifying glass to actually see the photos..*LOL*

Here's a better look at the left page. I cut out the Universal Studios Park map and made it a design element. I inked the surrounding areas with distress ink to mimick the greenery so that the map blends with the design of the layout. A little blue misting for the sky.

Fun with stickers, baker's twine and buttons.

Mini photos on 3D dots...:)

Here's look at the right page.

I used an orange corduroy brad as the sun and handstitched the rays. Journaling was printed on transparency.

I used the sketch at Sketchy Thursdays and the "play" challenge at The Studio. Echo Park papers, mist, distress ink, buttons, baker's twine, SRM stickers, cute stickers, wrinkle ribbon, thread.

P/s: A few more days to play along with my guest Tesa's colouring challenge! :)

*Edited* This layout was a Sketchy Thursdays fave! 

Get dimensional with Donna Mundinger!

My guest today is the lovely Donna Mundinger of Popsicle Toes. She is the de facto queen of dimension.  Her projects are full of awesome details and luscious yummy layers. I generally marvel and gasp when I visit her blog. Seriously. Her shaped cards are to die for! :) Today, she spills the secret to her dimensional creations and is hosting a challenge with a fabulous prize for one lucky participant! :)

Shall we marvel at some of her dimensional beauties?

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Hi, I'm Donna Mundinger and I'm so happy and honored to be a Guest Designer on Yvonne's fabulous blog. I'm such a fan of her bright and happy style! I live with my hubby of 35 years and two kitties in the East Bay of San Francisco, CA. I've always been a crafter but started working with paper when I received a Cricut Expression for my birthday 3 years ago. Although Cricut will always be my first love, I've expanded my repertoire to include the Cuttlebug and rubber and digi stamping as well. I consider myself a card maker, with a few altered projects thrown in for good measure. I'm not sure I have a signature style, but do I love to add dimension to everything I create.

Sometimes it's LOTS of dimension! This is my DT card for Bitten By the Bug2 this week, created in Cricut Design Studio.

It's a shaped front card card, one of my favorite kinds to make. As you can see, the front has many layers and is very dimensional. The back has several mats as well. One thing to keep in mind when adding alot of dimension to your card front, is to make sure the back of the card has enough structure to support it or the card will seem very flimsy when opened.

The card is created in layers by welding the elements in Cricut Design Studio. Here are all of the layers that went into the creation of this project. the first is the card itself, with a full front mat glued to the front of the card to hide the fold line. Each subsequent layer is a combination of welded elements plus the additional colored layers that have been glued flat. As you can see,this leaves 5 layers that will be popped with dimensional foam onto the card base.

I started out buying packaged foam squares and dots and quickly decided that it would be more cost effective to make my own using foam sheets from the craft store and transfer tape on both sides. Not only does it come in many colors (so it sort of disappears when viewing the card from the side) but you can cut it to any size you want. You can also run the foam through your Xyron. As you can see, I use a good amount of foam to support the many layers.

Here the dimensional view with all of the layers attached. It's quite labor intensive, and not the most practical for mailing (I use a padded envie or special presentation box) but it's challenging and fun and always delights the recipient.

Now I know you all don't own a Cricut, but you can add dimension no matter what your style. Here is an adorable Tiddly Inks digi stamp I've printed several times, then fussy cut the features and popped them. This works for rubber stamped images as well. You do want to color the layers, however (at least the edges of them so it still looks nice when viewed from the side). this image had very little coloring, but you can always scan your colored image and print it out several times so you don't have to color multiple images.

And here's an example where the first embossed mat is popped as well as the Spellbinder's frame, the sweet kitty image from Peggy Loves Vintage, and the sentiment tag. Easy peasy, so my challenge for you is to add dimension to your card. You don't have to go as crazy as I do, but I would like to see at least 2 layers popped from your card base. The winner of the challenge will be chosen by Random org and will receive a $40 gift certificate to Custom Crops so let's get popping!

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Pretty cool, eh? I know I would be delighted to receive such a dimensional card in the mail! *hint* Are you ready to play along with your pop dots? That $40 gift certificate awaits one lucky participant! :) Share your creations via Inlinkz (located at the end of this post) by Friday May 6.

As always, please leave a little love for my guest Donna. :)

Do you like my hot air balloon?

Hello friends! :) Do you like my hot air balloon? I wanted to play along with Moxie Fab World's In My Balloon Challenge. :)

The background was created with some old book paper, lots of gesso, paint and distress inks on a 9x12 canvas board.

The hotair balloon was paper-pieced and handstitched. I did a little upcycling and embossed a used can.  Had a little fun with some twine. And finished off with some crackle paint and stickles in rock candy. Nothing like crackles and sparkles for some cool texture! :)

Do you like my hot air balloon? :)

Echo Park papers, Cuttlebug embossing folder and Kaiser Craft rub-on.

P/s: I would really love for you to play along with my guest Tesa's colouring challenge! :) It ends on Friday!

Celebrate the weekend! :)

How about a bright and cheery card to celebrate the weekend? Here's this week's Get Sketchy card!:) I'm in love with this Pink Paislee line! :)

A little fussy cutting. Inking. Ribbon. Brad. Baker's twine. Handstitching.

P/s: I would really love for you to play along with my guest Tesa's colouring challenge! :)

My Core'dinations Creative Frenzy

Last Friday I spied some Core'dinations cardstock at my LSS and thought I should try out for the design team. :)

My parents on their wedding day.

I love the look of embossed and sanded cardstock in place of patterned paper!

I distressed the edges a little. Added some ink on the cream cardstock to further define the embossed pattern. Then I added crackle paint in rock candy for a lovely crackle finish. Some stitching to give a more polished look (and keep the paper flat!).

Loads of pretty blooms, trims, tulle, ribbon and button.

Patterned paper is from GCD Studios.

My sister and I. At Univeral Studios. We were pretty excited about trying out the Battlestar Galactica duelling rollercoasters...we only took 14 rides....*LOL*

Oh yes, it's a two page spread!:)

Fun with some Bo Bunny papers and SRM stickers! :)

A little fussy cutting. Some handstiching. Baker's twine. Ribbon. Stickers.

The photos on the bottom were printed on transparency.

Next up is a little 6X6 acrylic display. With My Mind's Eye patterned papers.

Can you tell that I only had three pieces of Core'dinations cardstock to work with? *winks*