Awesomely Amethyst

I'm Awesomely Amethyst...isn't that a mouthful!  As you know, I'm a huge fan of Scrapbook Steals and their weekly sketch challenges.  I have completed every one they've featured, almost 100 of them so far!  This week marks the end of another group of ten, the Amethyst series.  They are giving a way an amazing prize package to a lucky winner who has completed all 10 sketches.  Here are my layouts for this series:

Top 10 @ 10

This week at Scrapbook Steals, I was once again pushed out of my comfort zone.  When I saw the original sketch, I couldn't fathom how on earth I would make it work with my photos. I print 4x6 pictures ahead in large batches at Walmart and didn't have time to print out a bunch of small photos just for this layout.   I had to make do with what I had on hand, so I decided to focus on one photo of my 10 year old son.  And instead of 10 smaller photos, I made my own "top ten list" of sorts.  I am freaking out at how fast he's growing up and how quickly he's turning into a young man.  I really do like him at this age, so I decided to document why.

I used papers from My Mind's Eye.  All of the papers are from the Lime Twist collection except for the denim stitched squares which are from the Bright Side collection.  The stitched squares were already the perfect size, so I just added patterned paper inside of them.  My favorite feature was the last thing I added, the "award" at the top corner.  I started with the circle sticker, but thought it needed "something" so I used some scraps of twine to make loops all around and added the little tails to top it all off.  For having no I idea where this layout was going, I must say that I'm pleased with the results. 

Here's the original sketch by Kristy Lee:

I Adore You

This week Scrapbook Steals and Authentique teamed up for their sketch challenge.  Since my Authentique stash is dwindling, I decided to put all those scraps to good use. Here's what I came up with:

I combined pieces from different collections and layered everything on top of kraft paper.  They say diamonds are a girl's best friend, but after cutting and inking 80 of them, I'm not so fond of them anymore.  For this layout I used Authentique diction words, Richness paper from the Splendid line, Euphoria paper from the Blissful line, and Foundsations bi-fold solid paper. 
The original sketch looked like this:

welcome

With a precious new baby in the family, I just couldn't resist making a girly page featuring our beautiful new niece.  This page is featured today over at Practical Scrappers where there are tons of baby layouts to inspire you. 

This layout was inspired by a sketch by Kristy Lee for Scrapbook Steals.  I grabbed some pink supplies that don't get much use in my house, and started layering with browns and creams.  I've never been a fan of pink, so this pushes me WAY out of my comfort zone.  I had the pink fringy trim in my stash for over a year and decided this would be the perfect way to add a little sparkle and bling to my page.  My favorite addition is the meandering twine featuring some mini clothes pins (also something I've had in my stash for 10 years!) 

This layout will be my last one created for the design team at Practical Scrappers, as my term is coming to an end at the end of the month.  I've had great fun and have met a lot of talented ladies, so I'm sure I'll continue to play along as a fan for their on-going challenges!  Thanks for stopping by!

Splash!

This week's sketch at Scrapbook Steals was done by my crafty friend Kyla Norris.  She did a great job and provided two different sketches to inspire us!  I couldn't resist scrapping some fun sunny pictures from last summer.  Here's what I came up with:

And here's Kyla's sketch that inspired this super fun page:

Thanks for stopping by! 

U rule

Today at Practical Scrappers, layouts using baker's twine are being featured.  Here's what I created for the design team:

I started with one of my favorite Imaginisce collections, Geek is Chic, and kept this layout clean and simple.  I cut out several diamonds on my Cricut machine using the George cartridge, then traced my diagonal lines using a ruler and a pencil.  I pierced the paper at the corners and the center and stitched over my pencil lines using red twine from the Twinery.  I added some mini buttons to the centers of the diamonds and layered some punched paper before adding the die cut title.  Thanks for looking!