A Layout About Friendship

I have a layout up today on the October Afternoon blog for today's sketch feature:

This layout celebrates important friendships in my son's life. There were some tough times for him in elementary school when it came to friends. Initially, Eli gravitated towards friendships with girls and all was well. Once he started branching out and forging friendships with boys, however, things got a little more complicated. Unhealthy competition entered into the fray, as did kids who were growing up too quickly, making Eli feel uncomfortable. I was so glad that Eli settled into this trio. 

A good reminder for us that it works out, especially given that Sadie is navigating some of this now. I know she will come out stronger on the other side of things.

Be sure to check out the October Afternoon blog for the sketch and for a layout by the ever-fabulous Jill Sprott.

 

Cocoa Daisy Grey Street

Now that the cat is out of the bag, I want to share all of the projects I did for Cocoa Daisy with the March Grey Street kit and add-ons.

First up is my "Breakfast with Shel" layout (fun title, no? :)), which uses the Grey Street main kit and the Blue Ridge add-on (love those Elle's Studio Everyday Moments Bits & Pieces die cuts!):

Next up is another layout that combines the main Grey Street kit with the Blue Ridge add-on (and the fun "So Much to Love" sticker that came on one of the bags in my kit box):

 

Next up are two cards I made. The first one combines the Grey Street main kit with the Emerald Isle add-on:

 

My last project is a card that uses the main Grey Street kit and the Blue Ridge add-on (still love those Elle's Studio Everyday Moments Bits & Pieces die cuts!):

 

Be sure to check out all of the Cocoa Daisy design team members' awesome work with this month's kit and add ons here! :)

Unblocking Creative Block

I have a layout up on the October Afternoon blog today as part of the weekly Thursday sketch feature. (Stay tuned, as I will also have a layout up as part of next Thursday's sketch feature.) There's a fun story behind this layout. Read on...

I've been swamped lately with work, my family's schedule, etc. and haven't been feeling very creative. At the last minute, right before this layout was due, I posted on Facebook about how I had complete creative block. Two of my super-talented paper-crafty friends, Melanie Louette and Emily Spahn, responded to my post. I took that as a sign and decided to do what those two do so well: 8.5" X 11" layouts. Immediately, ideas emerged, and this layout was born:

So...without further ado...thank you, Melanie and Emily, for getting me out of a rut just by reaching out! Much appreciated! Thank you also to Alex Gadji, who created the fabulous sketch I used here.

Be sure to check out today's post on the October Afternoon blog for more info and to see the sketch and Alex's beautiful layout.

 

Guest Designing For...

Cocoa Daisy! 

I've long been terrified of kit clubs. What if I didn't like the products in a kit? What if I didn't like the color scheme, or only having bits and pieces of a line rather than a line in its entirety? What if the kit came with stamps and I had to...gasp...stamp? Well, I can say that my attitude has now changed! I hesitated a little when Emily asked me to be this month's guest designer, but decided to push past my hesitation and am so glad I did!

I finished all of my projects with this kit in one day. I stamped. I used products I would never have bought on my own. I combined products I never would have thought to combine on my own. End result? Fun, and projects I love!

March's kit, Grey Street, was in many ways outside of my usual box. I don't tend to scrap with a lot of grey, but this kit was full of it (don't worry, lots of colorful products as well!) and now I think I am going to add grey to my list of go-to neutrals, along with black, white, and kraft. Here's an official Cocoa Daisy kit sneak, showing the main kit and the add ons:

 

So far I've created two layouts and two cards, but hope to get even more done before the full reveal on the 26th! Here's a peek at my projects:

 

 Be sure to check back at Cocoa Daisy on February 26th for the full kit reveal!

Need Some Giant Arrows?

I have a layout up on the October Afternoon blog today:

Please be sure to check out the post over there, where I show you have to make these giant arrows:

Pocket Pages Challenge

Today's Monday Challenge at October Afternoon is all about using pocket pages in unusual ways. I cut a pocket page apart and used a piece with six 2" x 2" squares to make a fun card, using, amongst other products,...wait for it...stamps (yes, I, Vivian Masket, said "stamps") from the generic Daily Flash collection:

 

Here's a closer look that lets you see the pocket page a bit more clearly:

 

I stamped the glasses and mustaches/lips on cream colored cardstock and then laid chipboard frames over the cardstock, trimming the cardstock to fit. The three speech bubbles come from the Daily Flash Flash Blurb packs, one each from the Apple Cider, Eggnog, and Milk Money collections. After I had finished the stamping/framing, I slid each component into a pocket and glued it in place. I attached the pocket page to the background patterned paper using white staples and then adhered the whole thing to a 5" x 7" card base made from white cardstock.

Here are the two stamp sets I used:

 

I love that, in addition the the mini collections that are part of the Daily Flash line, there are generic products that coordinate across lines. I used another one of those fun products here, the Frame Up chipboard set:

 

Please be sure to check out the October Afternoon blog post today, as you must see Roree Rumph's project for this challenge - my jaw literally dropped when I opened my inbox and saw what she'd created! 

Making Room for the New Stuff

I'm figuring it won't be long now before stores are inundated with new products after the recent CHA trade show. What does that mean? Time to dig into my stash and use some of it up so that's there's room for the new stuff, especially everything on my wish list! :) I have been digging into recent, older, and ancient products lately, and here are some of the fun things I've created. More to come in another post soon...

The Source
Super simple, but I love how those forks worked out! I die cut them from the background cardstock after printing my journaling and then backed them with Lily Bee Design patterned papers. I love the motion that the herringbone and chevron patterns add to the direction of the forks.

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics | Patterned Paper: Lily Bee Design | Twine: May Arts | Die Cutting Machine: Silhouette

Live Colorfully, with Monsters
I started this layout with the Simple Stories Sn@p cards, the photos, and the die-cut title block, and then inspiration struck! I decided to pull the gems off the center of the Pebbles paper flowers and replace them with googly eyes to match my daughter's pom pom monsters. Then, of course, I had to replace the center of the "o" with a googly eye as well. Some Bella Blvd and Pebbles washi tapes balanced the colors and I was done.

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics | 3" X 4" Cards: Simple Stories | Paper Flowers: Pebbles | Washi Tape: Bella Blvd, Pebbles | Die Cutting Machine: Silhouette | Googly Eyes: Sadie's Art Project Stash :)

Grocery List Bomb
I thought this was a very clever title until no one in my family got it. :P My daughter snuck some items (fancy cheese, of course!) and a picture onto my grocery list and I was thinking that this was a "grocery list bomb" kind of like a "photo bomb." Anyway...this was a good opportunity to use some fun Jillibean Soup grocery cart patterned paper and some Kelly Purkey badges along with a few other things.

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics | Patterned Paper: Jillibean Soup, Pink Paislee, Studio Calico | Twine: May Arts | Stickers: Simple Stories, Kelly Purkey | Badges: Kelly Purkey | Chipboard Letters: Studio Calico | Paper Bag: Whisker Graphics | Punches: The Paper Studio, Stampin' Up | Grocery List Art: Sadie Masket

Home Sweet Home 
Gotta throw a card into the mix, too! I had fun with this one, creating a cut file in Silhouette Studio, pulling out the sewing machine for the first time in a while, and cutting those cute little Lily Bee Design houses so the doors swing open and pop dotting them (along with some hearts) for a bit of dimension.

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics | Patterned Paper: Lily Bee Design | Die Cutting Machine: Silhouette
 
What are you using up to make room for the new stuff? What new stuff are you eagerly anticipating? Do tell!