Summer Refreshments - Creative Scrappers sketch 309

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

Nothing Brings People Together Like Good Food - Pebbles Fussycutting

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

{Live Today} Creative Scrappers Sketch 305 with Lovely Day

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

{When It's Cold Out But You Want to Swim} Scrapbook & Cards Today sketch

Howdy y'all!  Happy spring to you.  I'm here today to share a layout that's a little bit winter, a little bit summer.  This is my sweet niece Sophie.  Back in November, she decided she wanted to swim and put on her bathing suit and her winter hat and gloves - because it was November. Adorable!  I think we've all been there.  :)

I am using a sketch from Scrapbook & Cards Today I saw in the Winter 2016 magazine and some Crate Paper Cute Girl and Snow & Cocoa as well as Maggie Holmes Bloom.  

The first thing I did was create a cut file inspired by a pattern on one of my papers I had laying around!  I cut it out onto a 6 x 12 piece of white cardstock using my Cameo and then adhered it to the striped paper.  And because I love to sew on my layouts, I sewed around some of the "petals".  And I used some large enamel dots as the centers.

To create my title, I cut out "When it's cold out but you want to" using Thirsty font - it's such a fun font!  I used Dear Lizzy Ooh La La Thickers to create "Swim".

All the fun elements and layers on the photo make me happy - like that cute penguin! And that Maya Road tulle flower from last year's SCT kit was a perfect change of texture.

I used two dies to cut a scalloped circle and the notebook page.  And sewing adds such wonderful texture...I rarely skip sewing on a layout!

Here's the sketch I used.  I tailored my layout for one photo since that's all I had to document.

Thanks for visiting with me today!  I hope you have a great spring!

Majken

{This Boy} Creative Scrappers December Reveal Blog Hop with Spiegelmom Scraps!

Hi Everyone!

Creative Scrappers is hosting a BLOG HOP today in conjunction with our reveal for sketch 301 and our sponsor Spiegelmom Scraps. I hope you can take a few minutes from your busy day and join us!  Here is sketch 301 - it's fabulous!

And here is my take on the sketch showcasing some fun embellishments from December sponsor, Spiegelmom Scraps.  I used:

• Lace Paper Doilies (I trimmed it for my boy page!)
• Chunky Cork Hearts
• Believe In You Sequins

As soon as I saw the sequins, I knew they matched Crate Paper's Cool Kid collection.  And since I hadn't yet scrapped Paxton's first day of second grade, the perfect plan came together quickly -- that's why I love sketches so much!

Here are a few close-ups.  The chunky cork heart works perfectly with the trimmed doily.

I love those aqua circular sequins in the pack!  And the daffodil sequins go well with the Crate Paper Cool Kid star clip.  And the little cherry bomb sequins accent everything perfectly!!

I used Creative Scrappers cut file "Slice of Cheesecake" to create the triangles that fit in the doily.  The triangles go with the triangle papers!

For my title, I used The Cut Shoppe's "Open Letter Alpha" cut file.  You can see another cork heart and more fun sequins from Spiegelmom Scraps.

Here's the order for today's hop!  I encourage you to make a stop at all the other designers' blogs for more eye candy!!

Anne Keller

Ashley Smith

Audrey Yeager

Caroli Schulz

Christine Beuzit

Jinny Newlin

Joefil E. Cate

Kristine Davidson

Majken Pullin       ***you are here***

Marielle LaForge-LeBlanc

Nicole Doiron

Rachel Lowe

Sarah King

Suzanna Lee

Valerie Ouellet

Vivian Lake

Yvette Weber

Please take advantage of this coupon on your next purchase

 from Spiegelmom Scraps!

Enjoy our reveal this month and please visit us on Dec 15 for another blog hop with
the design team members from SMS!

Tag us using #CreatingWithSketches and #Spiegelmomscraps 

We will also have a great prize for one of our participants
as well as a copy of the NEW Creating With Sketches V4!

Your next stop on the hop is Marielle LaForge-LeBlanc.

Have a great day!

Majken

Our New Happy Place - Creative Scrappers Sketch 298 Design Team Reveal

Hello, hello, lovely scrappers out in scrappy-land!  I hope you have come with a serving of chocolate to see what I (and the rest of the Creative Scrappers Design Team) have designed for you today.  This month we are partnering with Cuts 2 Luv, makers of some really fun badges!  I've used a few on my layout for this month.

In June, our family made the extraordinary trip to Banff, Alberta, Canada.  It was absolutely stunning - our favorite vacation we've ever had the fortune to have.  So much so that it is definitely our new happy place.  For real...we are already hoping to go back. 

So today's layout is in honor of this new happy place of ours.  The photo I chose of me and my husband was perfect to pair with various blues.  I pulled two pieces of paper from the Echo Park Summer Party collection - the ombre "swimming" paper (which is the largest circle in the center) and the pink/blue solid paper - I used the blue side of course.  Here is the full layout: 

To start, I took a piece of AC white textured cardstock and cut a circle from it using my Cameo - it was about 7 1/2" in diameter.  At this point, I played with many different papers and thoughts - it took a while to come together.  Does that ever happen to you?  I hope I'm not alone!  In any case, I settled on using a piece of ombre cardstock from Echo Park's Summer Party called "Swimming Fish" (the B side) and layered that behind the cut circle.  Next I used my Tim Holtz Distress Inks to watercolor the trimmed left edge of my white cardstock.  I layered 4 different colors to help blend the blue from the sky in the photo to the patterned paper and the navy pieces (Dark Blue paper also from Echo Park Summer Party).

To finish the circles, I cut a smaller circle from vellum with gold stars as well as a thin circle from the dark blue paper.  Then I got to stitching!  I used gold thread to stitch around the circles, along the left edge, and in the embellishment area in the bottom left (shown above).  I love that "love" badge from Cuts 2 Luv above and the blue ombre one shown below.

Here's a quick look at the stitching on the left as well as the journaling area.  I used several pieces of ephemera from the Pink Paislee Citrus Bliss.

Here's a peek at our "perfect photo" and my title.  I used alphas from BasicGrey Urban Luxe and Simple Stories then cut the "happy" using my Cameo.

Take a look at the top right embellishment area.  I used "beautiful" from Citrus Bliss and BasicGrey alpha to create "Banff".  I stitched some more and then added some acrylic stars and enamel dots.

Here is sketch 298:

That's all for me - now go create your own version to link up on the Creative Scrappers site.  We'd love to have you play along!  And please check back with the Creative Scrappers blog on Sept. 15th to see what the Cuts 2 Luv team creates!

Have a lovely week and Labor/Labour Day weekend if you are in US/Canada!

xoxo,
Majken


Materials used:
Papers:  American Crafts, Echo Park Summer Party
Distress inks:  Salty Ocean, Evergreen Bough, Faded Jeans, Scattered Straw
Embellishments:  Cuts 2 Luv, Pink Paislee Citrus Bliss, Simple Stories I Am, Jen Hadfield Home Made, American Crafts
Alphas:  BasicGrey Urban Luxe, Simple Stories
Other:  Gold thread, unknown vellum; Gems - Queen & Co and CTMH

{Most Favorite} Creative Scrappers Sketch 297 Reveal

Hello everyone and welcome to August!  The first of the month means a new sketch from Creative Scrappers and it's a fun one!  We've partnered with The Cut Shoppe this month, and I used the Candy Hearts cut file with some Pink Paislee Fancy Free goodies to highlight a photo of my sweet niece.  She's precious <3.

I opted to cut Candy Hearts from textured white cardstock.  My original thought was to use white on white, but the Fancy Free papers had me thinking of watercoloring, so I decided to grab my waterbrush and my Distress Inks.  After my hearts dried, I stuck them to my layout and sewed around the green ones.

I used two barcode strips from the Fancy Free papers to create the perpendicular pieces and sewed them as well.  I fashioned a journal spot with a cut circle and a scalloped circle with some sewing.

I used embellishments from the Fancy Free goodies as well as the "That Smile" printable Kristine created.  

I also sprinkled some Heidi Swapp Color Shine ink to add interest.  And for some fun embellishments, I also fussycut some of the flowers and popped some up with 3D dots.

Those buttons and enamel pieces are so fun!  I used the "Most Favorite" as my title.

Here's a look at the sketch, and don't forget to link up!  Ashley has also created a fun cut file you can grab for a discount through August using code TCSCS25 - it's called "Inner Circle".  Go check out the other design team members' layouts on the Creative Scrappers blog, too.

I hope you are inspired to use the sketch in your own way this month.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Have a great week.

Majken

Miss You Everyday -- Creative Scrappers Sketch 296

Happy holiday Friday everyone!  It's Canada Day today for friends in the north, and Monday is Independence Day holiday in the US.  And what better way to celebrate the start of July than with a new sketch from Creative Scrappers with a cut file from Just Nick?  Here's my layout for sketch 296 of my sweet dad. When I saw the Simple Stories Heart collection, I knew I had to have it.  We lost my dad just before Christmas in 2011, and I think the colors and sentiments are just perfect for remembering him.

How cool is the Chopsticks cut file from Just Nick?  You can get it for free by visiting the Creative Scrappers page.  Often times, I'm creating things in my head before I ever get to my craft room. In the shower, driving, eating...all good places to plan creative projects.  :)  I thought of a few different ways I could use the cut file, but finally decided on doing a couple of shaker strips.  

The first step was to layout out the chopsticks in Silhouette Studio where I wanted them and then cutting it out from white textured cardstock on my Cameo.  I also trimmed some strips of different papers from the Heart collection to back the cuts, but I left two open for the shaker strips.

And how fun to finally use my We R Memory Keepers Fuse tool!  I started with two strips from a page protector.  The first one already had a seam since it was the edge, and then I used the Fuse tool to create seams on the 2 sides and then three sides for the 2nd strip, leaving one side open for my confetti.  I used my old Martha Stewart Punch All Over the Page confetti hearts punch to make some hearts and added star sequins, regular sequins, and other little goodies.   I fused the last side for each shaker strip and then tucked it under the white cardstock.  

I love the gold in the collection and added some gold star sequins in the shaker strips as well as gold thread to stitch with.  And those stickers in the collection just are perfect.

I added a few of the confetti hearts around on the page as well!

For the title, I used the alpha stickers and the "everyday" Simple Stories cut file from the Silhouette store.  I cut "everyday" several times and glued them together to create my own "chipboard" word, and then I sewed to underscore the word.  I popped another little heart confetti in the dot of the "i".  

I usually make a point to journal on my pages. For this page, I tucked some private journaling behind the photo of my dad, and sewed a sticker tag to create a pull.

Here is sketch 296 - come play along with us this month for a chance to win $25 to the Just Nick shop!  Link up your design during the month of July.

Don't forget to check out the other Design Team members' layouts for more inspiration.

Have a super holiday weekend!!

Majken

Dolphin Encounter - Creative Scrappers Sketch 295 Reveal!

Hello scrappy friends!  I'm so excited to share my first layout as part of the Creative Scrappers design team.  It's such an honor to be a part of this team!  And how great is it for Kristine to bring back the sketches - they are so fun to create with.  You can rotate them, mirror them, change the # of photos, etc. though mine usually end up around 90% similar to the original sketch.  

For this layout, I dug back in to some more honeymoon photos.  Remember, I'm still on a honeymoon bloggy time warp!  Don't be shocked if you see more honeymoon getting scrapped in the next six months.  :)  In April I shared another honeymoon layout also using Simple Stories You Are Here - it's so pretty!  It captures the laid back beachy feel that makes me think fondly of that trip 16 years ago.  Okay, so on to the layout!

I had such fun with this sketch creating all kinds of texture.  First up was trimming some CTMH Lagoon cardstock for the main mat area and then trimming a couple of the Simple Stories papers for the base of the photos.  After pulling together those main pieces, I distressed the cardstock, sewed it to textured white cardstock close to its distressed edges, and then curled up a few edges with my finger.  

Then I adhered the Simple Stories papers and my matted photos.  I felt something was missing, so I trimmed a strip of Heavenly Blue cardstock.  But it seemed "flat".  Inspiration came in the form of Martha Stewart fringe scissors.  I used them on another summer layout in 2014.  Doesn't it make you think of a tiki bar and a refreshing drink with an umbrella in it?  Ahhhh....

So the base part of the layout came together quickly, but I knew I needed some embellishment areas.  Enter in Just Nick Studios' Broken Heart Background.  I cut out three in different sizes to use in lieu of the stars on the sketch.  After I cut them out, I backed each "window" with different papers from the collection for a fun mosaic look. I also popped them up with foam tape! Here's the large one at an angle (and I love the Simple Stories New Bradz and photo stickers!):

Now that I had the main part done, I felt the bottom left corner was sparse.  Yet, I didn't want to deviate from the sketch drastically or draw attention away from the photos.  I decided it would be a cool effect to cut some waves in white and sew them to the bottom.  I used an Echo Park cut file and modified it to stretch to 12".  White on white can be powerful!  But in this case, I felt it still needed something.  Enter in some watercoloring -- using Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Peacock Feathers and Evergreen Bough) and my CTMH watercolor pen -- along the stitched edges, similar to some cards I did recently.

I think the subtle color was just enough to anchor the layout.  I love it when a plan comes together!  I then used the alpha stickers from the collection for the title, and you can see another heart here, too.  Note to self:  go put a dab of glue under the rebel orange letters that don't want to stay stuck.  ;)

All that was missing now was the journaling strips, and I printed some out using the brown/gray color on more textured white cardstock.  If you are stuck on how to match font colors to your layout, I have a little how-to tutorial.

That's it for me!  I hope this inspires you to grab that sketch and link up on Creative Scrappers InLinkz for a chance at some goodies from our sponsor, Jillibean Soup.  Don't forget to check out the other design team members' layouts for more inspiration, too!

Have a great day!
Majken