MercyTiara 27 day Challenge for October 2016

The challenge for this month from MercyTiara's Facebook Group "MercyTiara's 27 Day Challenge" was to use a specific recipe.  Details on she YouTube channel

A recipe challenge! In order to qualify for this challenge, you must use all the “ingredients” in the following recipe:

Preheat scrapspace to 70º F (21ºC)
Grease and flour a page protector. Wait, on second thought, maybe skip that one.
Combine the following supplies:
- 1 Black and White, 5X7 photo of yourself, fresh or frozen (recent or older)
- 1 or more 6X6 paper pads: - 1 page of the floral variety - 1 page of the striped variety
- 1 sketch of any kind (sketches can be found at creativescrappers.com, pagemaps.com, or any other site, magazine, etc.)
- Layer together the above ingredients, stirring in any other items, as needed, from your pantry (scrap room).
- Season with mist, or buttons, or wood veneers, or enamel dots, or Nuvo crystal drops, to taste.
- Garnish with a title.
- Serve the final dish (layout) with the sketch on the side.

Let the cook-off begin!


I used a 5x7 black & whiter photo, 2 6x6 pads (Woven paper from Fabrique pressed petals and Basic Grey 'Hey You').  The sketch I found by googling 5x7 sketch and found this sketch by Brenda Ragsdale found on her blog for the February 2012 challenge.  I added tags for journalling and a couple of roses I made from my "pantry" (stash) and 'seasoned' it with gems and garnished it with a title.  The bow at the top is from Fancy Pants Happy go lucky Button set.

Silly Little Shadow

I watched a video by Crafty Meggy and fell in love with the fringe background and decided to scraplift this for the pictures of my granddaughter finding her shadow for the first time.  I had a tag in my stash (no idea where it came from) that said Silly Little Sunshine but I tucked the word sunshine behind the photo mat and adding pink thickers called Sprinkles that say shadow so the title becomes Silly Little Shadow.  I added a tulle flower I made, three doilies on the right and added little blue punched doilies on top with pink buttons with pink & white bakers twine.  The paper in the background is from my stash but not sure what brand (I think Color Bok from Walmart but not for sure). Three bottom fringe papers – My Mind’s Eye Lost & Found Blush 6x6 patterned paper pack.  Butterfly patterned paper – The Paper Studio – Poteeka Butterfly Item #196410.  I fringed with Martha Stewart Fringe scissors.  I put two lines of sewing above each fringed area and around the photo block.  Added a tag that simply stated that Hallie Jo found her shadow and the date.  Finally I added a bunch of sequins.

I am so glad I found Crafty Meggy's video cause I LOVE this layout,.

Rose die obsession

I got a bunch of new dies today.  I ordered them from China off of Ebay.  They were all under $2.00 each.  I am currently obsessed with this rose die.  I backed the red on red with red crape paper, the white on pink is on pink crape paper, the red is on yellow crape paper, the red is on pink checked pattern paper, the yellow is on green felt (I did not do a good job trimming that one).  Then there is one that is not backed on anything.  I really like the look of them backed on the crape paper, patterned paper and felt.

Happily Ever After

First layout of my daughter's wedding.  Since scanning the layout I have added wink of Stella to the bouquet and the veil on the bride print & cut and have added the dot to the i in lived (missed that when attaching the letters).  I intend on adding some gold Stickles to a few of the gold inked dots.  I used a cut file I purchased from Just Nick Studio called confetti and Ink R Up gold ink.  I did the cut file as a stencil and used it on the top and the bottom and inked in the gold ink.  When I looked at the pictures I immediately had a vision of a bride with a long train and the tile on the train.  However, I could not find a cut file nor an image that I liked so I found this bride and added the train.  I couldn't find a matching image for the groom since he is army.  I did find a prince & princess color book page so I cut the bride out and used the groom (who is actually a prince but I used him as an army guy in uniform...close enough).  In hindsight I should have mirrored the image of the prince so he would be looking down toward the bride.  I may re-cut him and do just that.

I didn't do any journalling because this will be in their wedding album and there will be a lot of journalling about stories that go with the wedding.  This was just the "kiss" photo and there really isn't much to say.

Coney Island Beach Vacation

This is a layout for Mercy Tiara's 27-Day Challenge for August to use homemade embellishments.  I have had these embellishments in my stash for years.  I made the altered CD for a swap at Yahoo Groups scrap-a-holic Anonymous group for an August Beach time swap.  The label did not have the year.  I made the Beach Vacation for an April title swap in the same group.  Again, no year on the label.  I made the clouds as I was doing the layout.  I had to put the whale on the photo of me on the beach looking like a beached whale.  I made the waves out of some wave paper I had in my stash and the sand was a 6x6 piece of paper that I cut into 2" strips and joined in the middle.  I added Coney Island in tile letter stickers above beach and a border sticker of sand, shells and grass at the bottom.  The background is a sheet of pale blue card stock from my stash.

Pigeon Forge Thanksgiving

Have you ever been siting in your craft room and just "NEED" to scrapbook?  I mean, you have to put stuff on a layout and create or you will go insane?  Well, that was me yesterday.  I was working on stuff for my theatre and just got the overwhelming urge to scrapbook.  So, I searched through my pictures and found a bunch from a trip we took Thanksgiving of 2006 to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  We actually went to Knoxville to have Thanksgiving with my sister, her son & daughter-in-law and they took us to Pigeon Forge.  What a cute little tourist village!  They had the quaintest shops (candy, clothing, gifts, etc) and food and entertainment.  Very nice little side trip.  My daughter (who as 10 at the time) had fun.  I'm sure she doesn't remember much other than the candy store and the Christmas store but I remember she had fun.  She bought her ballet teacher a ballet ornament for her Christmas tree and couldn't wait to get it home to her.

I have an easy time hording Scraptastic Kits but not so easy of a time using them because if I use them, I won't have them.  However, I really enjoyed using this kit.  It was the February 2016 Sunday Morning kit.  The background was an exclusive Scraptastic paper Food/Family/Story - Fools Rush In paper.  I did hate using it cause the other side was this AMAZING heart design but oh well, it is done now.  The layering paper behind the photos is a paper from the kit Crate Paper HELLO LOVELY - With You.  Lovely pink with white hearts.  Most everything else was from the kit.  I think the "This was" and "the best" were an extra purchase from the This Life Noted kit from that month but I'm not sure.

I made the fringe butterfly and added it to the kit since it went so well.  I had actually forgotten about making it until I opened the kit.  The polka dot bag contained the embellishments from the kit.  The bags are so cute I love using them on layouts.  The doilies were from my stash.  The title "Family" is Thickers YOU & ME and the word "Vacation" was Thickers SPRINKLES.  I did my journalling on a black chalkboard label with a white jelly roll pen.

He is Risen 12x12 layout

This layout is for the MercyTiara 27 day challenge for July.  The theme of the challenge is to scrapbook your favorite holiday and why is it your favorite.

Everything was cut on my Silhouette Cameo and I wrote the journalling ion a white Jelly roll pen.  The doves are on pop dots.  The journalling tells how even though we celebrate Christ's birth at Christmas, the real story of Jesus is in the fact that he was willing to die for my sins.  Then I quoted John 3:16.

revamped, organized and cleaned craft room

The BEFORE!  My craft room was a spot where EVERYTHING that didn't have a home got stuck.  It was an embarrassing mess that I couldn't even craft in!

Now it is a lovely place that I can go and craft and do my bible study and just relax and enjoy the organization.  Now to just get myself to tidy up after each crafting session.  That is the big trick.  Still need to shampoo the carpet and clean off the top shelf and organize a bit more paper.  But, other than that, I'm happy with it.

Monthly project life -Jan 2016

My first project life is layout.  I've done a pocket page to accompany a normal 12x12 but this is going to be a monthly recap of life type album.  Obviously I am a few months behind but I'm just going to take my time and enjoy the process.

New Year party with the Youth at church.  They did a scavenger hunt and Laycie and her friend Monica (Lamon) won!  The letters have been in my stash as long as I can remember and the blue jean doily I got at Dollar Tree a few months ago.  

My daughter's friends and I go bowling and Laycie is...well...less than professional lets say.  Anyway, she got a strike this time!.  The letters were from my stash, the gold arrow paperclip was from Dollar Tree and the bowling pins and ball I cut from my Silhouette.

We love Harry Potter and Alan Rickman and David Bowing in Labyrinth.  These two great shining stars were gone way too soon.  So, I had to remember them.  When each of them died we watched their movies.

My Emmaus accountability group decided to start a game night at our church.  This was the first and was a big hit.  We all learned to play a game called 'Sequence'.  Very fun game.  I did a print & cut on the title 'Game Night' on my Silhouette.

This was my daughter and her, at that time, boyfriend hanging out.  He left for basic in February, proposed in May, they were married in June and he left for Germany and she is about to leave to join him August 1.

I sat in my recliner to take a bit of a 'catnap' and Button & Pearl joined me and made it a real cat nap. LOL  The stickers were from my stash.  I added the small card on top of another to make it a 4x6.

Tulle flowers

These are a few tulle flowers I made last night after watching many YouTube videos.  Have I mentioned how addicted I am to YouTube?  Well I am!

Anyway, these are the easiest things to make and I love them.  I want to get some sheer material and try to make some with sheer material and tulle together.  Not sure how that will work but I'm gonna give it a try.

Thanks for checking out my flowers.  Would love to know what you think and if you have ever made these before.

Basic Training layout

Layout of my daughter's boyfriend who just graduated from basic training in the Army.  I used a kit from Simple Stories called HERO.  Everything is from the kit.  I have not done the journalling because I want to have Hunter do it when he gets home or have my daughter do it from her perspective.  Or I may just do basic documentation of when he enlisted, when she entered basic and when he graduated and what is next phase will be.  Not sure of the journalling yet.  I love this kit but it seems to be a bit Air Force heavy and since he is Army it was a bit of a struggle.  I want to do a companion page of my daughter and him at family day and graduation.  This layout was also a part of the MercyTiara's 27 Day Challenge on Facebook to do a masculine layout.

Cooking Class layout

Layout of my daughter and her 2 friends taking a 4-H Cooking Class. 

I used items from Yahoo Group Scrap-a-holic anonymous group January 2012 In the Kitchen swap. 

I inked the edges of everything with Old Road chalk ink that I got in a scraptastic club kit (no idea the brand.  The print is too small).  I added a few stickers and the title.  I need to write the journalling in the file folder and look up the date of the class and add a date stamp.

Hallie's First Easter

I created this layout of my granddaughter's first Easter using a sketch from Lisa Echerd's 2015 sketch book.  I love her sketch books because she gives photo and paper sizes and swaps and suggestions to alter the sketch.  She also includes a video link (if there is one for the sketch) to a video where she herself used the sketch.  I changed it up a bit and instead of hanging tags I added the adorable crocheted doilies I got from Ebay and I added the journalling on a tag at the bottom.  I added sequins because the jar of pastel sequins was on my table and I thought "why not".  The layered border strip at the top was in my stash for YEARS and I have no idea where it came from.  There were three on a strip and this one actually said happy spring and there was another that said happy Easter so I did a bit of surgery and swapped out the titles.  The pink card stock and the Easter papers have also been in my stash for a million years and I have no idea where they came from.  The yellow thickers are from The Paper Studio MozzaRella font.  The pink tile letters are October Afternoon Mini Market in Peppermint.

My little granddaughter smiles like this all the time.  She is such a happy baby.  I don't get to see her often since I live in Arkansas and she lives in Wisconsin but we skype so she doesn't forger me.  :)