Hello scrappy friends! Well, it's certainly been an interesting 4+ months living through a horrific flood from Hurricane Harvey. I've missed you guys, and I hope I can hop back on the papercrafting saddle more consistently now. Our home is still not finished, but we are making progress. All in due time, and we appreciate everyone's prayers and thoughts. <3
I wanted to share my very favorite layout that was published this past June in the Summer Issue of Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine. I was truly beyond excited about it!
I wanted to create a layout with my grandmother as the star. She was the most beautiful ballerina, and she ended up owning and running her own dance studio that I practically grew up in. I paired a black and white photo of her with the *stunning* Cocoa Vanilla Studio collection Wild at Heart.
The cut file is from Cocoa Vanilla Studio Colour Me Happy collection, and I also fussycut a lot of flowers to add in. In addition to paper, enamel dots, and flowers from CVS, I used Thickers from American Crafts, a bow and gold heart from Crate Paper, and vellum and a fringed paper strip reminiscent of a ballerina's tutu. Here are a few close ups.
I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Eve...here's to a grand 2018!
Chocolate hugs,
Majken
Hello friends!
What is your favorite summer refreshment? For me, you just can't go wrong with an iced tea. My layout was recently on the Creative Scrappers blog showcasing my take on sketch 309, highlighting this photo of my morning refreshment on vacation this summer.
Ahhhhh...well, now I want another iced tea! Go take a peek at close-ups of my layout on the Creative Scrappers blog. This Echo Park Summer Fun collection is so colorful and cheery!
Don't forget to share your take on the sketch on the Creative Scrappers blog for your chance to win a $15 gift certificate to Clique Kits!
Have a great week!
Majken
I have been inadvertently sitting on a collection from Pebbles that I bought awhile back, and I decided to play with it for Creative Scrappers sketch 308, which I shared on the Creative Scrappers blog Friday. Take a peek at what I created with this month's sketch:
The warm colors and beautiful florals from Simple Life collection from Pebbles just pop, don't they?
I documented a date night I had with my husband at a new restaurant near us. It was really delicious, and we had such a nice time. We took several photos, which were perfect to document with this month's sketch - I simply "stretched" out the width of the smaller photo area to accommodate my photos!
Go check out close-ups on the Creative Scrappers blog, and don't forget to create your own layout using the sketch to link up!
Please share any layouts you create with a Creative Scrappers sketch on Instagram and tag us (@CreativeScrappers) with the hashtag #CSSketch308 and #CreatingWithSketches.
And don't forget to follow me on Instagram {@chocoscrapaholic}. See you there!
Have a super week!
Majken
Well hello there crafty friends! I hope you are having a lovely July in your neck of the woods. The family and I just got back from a getaway in Boulder, Colorado. We had many adventures, and now I'm so tired that I need a day off - ha! I haven't printed out or had the chance to scrap anything from our week in Colorado, but I thought I'd share a layout from a vacation hubby and I took in 2008. Take a look:
I used the Scrapbook & Cards Today sketch here.
I love the Dear Lizzy Lovely Day collection!! The colors are just...muah! I printed my black and white photos in a grid using the Pic Stitch app, then printed it out as a 4x4 photo.
Next I cut the Just Nick Studio cut file "Love Actually" from white textured cardstock. But instead of doing white-on-white, I decided to lightly brush the cut files with CTMH Juniper ink using my ClarityStamp Stencil Brushes. They are fun to use (you can see how I used them on this layout as well), and you don't need a lot of ink or pressure to see a subtle effect. My strips got darker as they go down the page. Here's a close up.
Here's a quick look at my journaling strips. I used the KG Only Human font, and I matched the blue from the collection for my font color easily with a tip I've shared before.
How fun is that gold foil "love" ephemera piece? I also find it fun to do a diagonal piece along the edges - I think it gives some extra interest to a square layout. And I love to sew on my layouts - this one has stitching along the inside edge of the white cardstock. Enamel dots are also great to use!
I hope you have had some down time this summer (or whatever season it may be in your area!). Don't forget to document those fun times!
Have a great week (make sure it includes chocolate ;) ),
Majken
Hi everyone! Summer is here in full force in the Houston, Texas area. So all thoughts go towards swimming! I recently got the new Pebbles collection Sunshiny Days. It's perfect for those days in the water. Take a peek!
My layout started with the Simple Stories heart cut file. I had cut it to use as a template for placing the heart pieces on this layout, and it was just sitting there waiting for me to use the negative for something else! The scallops in it made me think of waves, and I knew it would look great with the waves paper that I used at the bottom of the layout!
I backed the cut file area with the lovely plaid paper first, then I sewed around it.
Next, I trimmed the waves paper and sewed along the waves to create some texture.
Aren't those clear dots lovely on there mimicking water droplets?? And the chipboard stickers add wonderful personality!
I matted the photo area using several of the papers, but I had to use that wonderful plaid paper again! For the "Cool" and "Pool" words, I welded letters from The Cut Shoppe Open Alpha and then trimmed blue cardstock using my Cameo. I trimmed the inside of the letters using white textured cardstock and glued the blue outline over the white inside. Some close-ups:
For the "by" and "then" I used Echo Park Lindsay die cuts. I cut a few and glued them together for more dimension, and then I used my Clarity brushes to brush ink lightly on them.
That's all for me today - I hope you enjoy your summer and get refreshed by the water.
See you soon!
Majken
Hello scrappy friends! Today I wanted to share a layout I created for the Creative Scrappers design team June sketch. It's so much fun to create from sketches, and it's extra fun to see how people change up the sketch in different ways.
Here's my layout! I used the fabulous You Rock collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio.
Here are some close-ups - I created the title using The Cut Shoppe Open Letters:
Please share your layouts on Instagram and tag @CreativeScrappers with the hashtag #CSSketch307 and #CreatingWithSketches! And link up your take on the main sketch 307 by June 30th on the Creative Scrappers blog.
Don't forget to follow me on Instagram too!
Have a super weekend full of crafty time,
Majken
Hello friends-
So glad you stopped by! Yesterday I was up on the Creative Scrappers blog with my rendition of Kristine's super-fun sketch for May. You can use up to 6 photos on this layout, and there are so many possibilities! I scrapped some photos of my husband and I from our engagement photo shoot. We'll celebrate 17 years this month!
Go check out close-ups on the Creative Scrappers blog and see how I colored some Gesso to paint on my layout (psst...it doesn't have to stay white!).
Have a great day.
Majken
Hello crafty friends!
Do you ever have a collection on your desk after creating and can't bear to put it away yet? That happened to me recently with the Simple Stories Love & Adore collection. It's just so dang pretty! I wanted to stay on the "love" theme but I needed a good photo. My families' Facebook pages came to the rescue!
I created this layout of my niece and her husband on their one year anniversary. Aren't they a cute couple?? And hugging in the snow makes them even cuter.
I also had most of a Bea Valint cut file left over after creating this layout of my husband and me on our wedding day. They are certainly smitten with each other, so I had to choose that as my title.
Take a peek at the the final view of the cut file after matting behind the flowers and some sewing.
Here's a closer look at the photo area. I popped up the flowers sticker for some depth and sewed in and around the photo mat for additional texture.
I used some of the phrase stickers too.
So go have fun with whatever collection is sitting on your desk - you won't regret not putting it away so soon. :)
Have a great Friday and weekend!
Majken
Hello and happy Sunday to you all!
Are you a reader of Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine? I've been a reader for many years and they started a monthly challenge this year. I decided to take part in the April sketch challenge because, flowers! I also recently tidied up my craft room - and came across some of my wedding photos, so I had to scrap my favorite one.
So I started with a gorgeous sheet of Bazzill Juneberry cardstock for my base. I also had just seen Bea Valint's spring frame cut file and thought it would be perfect. I cut the full frame and trimmed one of the sides to use. I then used the Studio software to separate some of the flowers to create the back/inside cuts for a few of them. I felt like I was playing "Operation" using the Studio knife tool zoomed in to get exactly what I needed to separate!
For the photo mat, I had to use that "So Happy Together" paper. And vellum always gives a pretty touch to wedding pages - I scalloped the top of my vellum first. I sewed around the photo too to help frame it. I fussycut the flowers with "always & forever" from a journal card on the 4x4 and 4x6 Vertical Journaling Elements paper.
The "LOVE" stickers go perfectly for the title! I popped them up with some 3D foam dots.
I used many different enamel dots to fill in some of the flower centers. I also did a fair bit of fussycutting, and I used the center of the little 5-petal flowers from the cut file to fill in for added variety.
Here is the sketch I used from Becky Fleck of PageMaps via Scrapbook & Cards Today.
It is so fun to use sketches! Check back on May 12th for my reveal of Creative Scrappers sketch 306.
Until then, enjoy your week (with a bit of chocolate!).
xoxo,
Majken
Hello and happy hump day everyone! Do you love a good pun? I do! And the layout I'm sharing today has a fun one as my title. :)
I love this collection from Simple Stories called Bloom & Grow. The colors make me happy! I started by cutting a bunch of the Lazy Daisies cut file by Just Nick using the blue polka dot paper for the outline and various other papers for the inside of the daisies. Here's some close-ups of the flowers.
I used enamel dots and decorative brads for the flower centers.
The layout came together pretty quickly! Here's a close-up of my photo area. We took some photos during the holidays of me with my mom and brothers. How cute is that scalloped circle? I used the die from Papertrey Ink Shaker Shapes.
So many fun elements to choose from in this collection from the ephemera to the enamel dots to the stickers!
Here's a close up of the title. That little gnome gets me!
And then I felt the layout needed some stitching around the edges to frame all the flowers - just so they weren't just "floating" on the layout.
I'm so glad you could join me today. I hope this inspires you to use some of your stash for some die cutting fun!
Have a great week!
Majken
Hello out there scrappy friends-
Today I'm up on the Creative Scrappers blog kicking off the Design Team's take on sketch 305 for April. Our sponsor is The Cut Shoppe, and I had so much fun using two of Ashley's cut files! I used Oodles of Doodles for the spiral circles and Spring Fling for the flowers at the bottom. It's a fun and whimsical sketch, and I decided to use Dear Lizzy Lovely Day - it's so pretty and colorful! I cannot get enough of that blue floral paper (full disclosure, I had to order more of it!). Here's my layout.
After deciding on photos of my daughter when she was two, I planned out the sizes I wanted to print. Then I planned the paper square sizes and circle sizes. Next I cut those spiral circles using my Cameo and adhered everything to textured white cardstock that I had spattered with two colors of ink. Finally I sewed inside and outside each square as well as in the spiral circle. So fun!
After adhering the photos, it was easy to put the chipboard title, some enamel dots and stickers, and some journaling strips.
The chipboard hearts and flowers are so lovely! I felt the bottom needed an anchor, so I cut a thin strip of the blue floral paper and stitched across. And then I cut 3 flowers out from the Spring Fling cut file set and "planted" them in the strip.
And here is the sketch.
So come play with this fun sketch, and link up on the Creative Scrappers blog and Instagram using hashtags: #creatingwithsketches and #CSsketch305 and tagging @creativescrappers.
Thanks for visiting with me today! Have a fun week - and make sure you enjoy some chocolate, too.
xoxo,
Majken
Hello there!
Happy Friday everyone! Do you like ice cream? Well, it's my favorite! And it must be chocolate of course (it wasn't hard to come up with my blog name, let's just say!). A few weeks ago, we went to a new burger place and I tried a chocolate stout shake.
Oh. My. YUM.
So good, y'all! My hubby snapped a few photos and when I saw them I knew I wanted to use my new stash of Fancy Pants Designs Family & Co with the vibrant colors! I also used Let Them Eat Pie from The Cut Shoppe.
I traced, enlarged, and then cut the "Love" pie cut file from AC textured cardstock on my Cameo. I backed it with Family & Co papers and set it aside. Next, I offset the outside of the pie circle by .175 and snapped periods around the circle using a similar technique I showed last May. I then sent this to my Cameo on a fresh piece of cardstock. Once the holes were cut, I backstitched my circle using black floss and then put the Love pie cut file inside the stitched circle.
To complete the title, I used black foam "Today" from Amy Tan "Today" Thickers - such fun texture! I used some cute sequins from Spiegelmom Scraps called "Believe in You". They're a perfect match with a punched heart and the colors in the collection!
For the top 3 pieces of my pie, I used 6x6 papers from Family & Co. The one on the right with the writing had highlighted phrases in the wrong spot, so I simply cut out those two phrases and glued them over the plain phrases.
I used 3 asterisks from the Family & Co alpha pack as well as some other goodies from Maya Road, Crate Paper, Bella Blvd, and Webster's Pages.
I cut a large heart from the black hearts paper to mat the photo in the top left.
I tucked a little journaling tag behind the bottom left photo.
And there you have my second layout with hand stitching on it - it's such a fun technique, and I hope I've inspired you to try it.
Have a super weekend (with some ice cream of course!).
Chocolate hugs,
Majken
