Sketchy Thursdays --- A new-to-me Sketch Challenge Blog

So today, I log on to Facebook, and I have an invite to join a group. Most of these I just delete as they are pointless, like, "I hate tomatoes, but love ketchup." IGNORE, IGNORE, IGNORE!!! But this one was from a fellow scrapper, blogger and friend, Jenny. You can visit her blog here. The site that she introduced me to is called Sketchy Thursdays. You guessed it every Thursday there is a new challenge sketch. I immediately fell in love with this weeks, and got right to work.

My take on the sketch:
The layout is done on a transparent overlay from KI Memories. The black background is just there for photographing purposes. I used Basic Grey "Lemonade" papers, Prima flowers. and the journaling block is a transparency from Hambly.

This has been a very productive week for me. But I should mention that I have so many new goodies to play with that this has been a very easy week to be creative. CKC Portland was last week, and I got some great deals on paper and embellishments, not to mention THICKERS! I love them! The day before I found out that Tuesday Morning sells scrapbook stuff, and bought a TON there. Then to top my week off, our Tax Return came yesterday, and my hubby treated me to the Cricut Expression for Valentine's Day. Love you sweetie!

So you want to see what else I have been up too? Here ya go!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Go Junior, Have a great day at Daytona!!! #88
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This feels right

Everything is right in my world again! Ok, not everything, but my mojo is flowing once again. I lost my job last week, and now I have an amazing amount of free time. I am back home with my son. I am taking advantage of this while I can. I know at the beginning of the year if I don't get my job back that I will have to start hunting again.

But anyway, here is what I have been up to. I got 3 layouts done!Now, what else can I scrap?

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Christmas Wishes

My newest layout. For the past 2 years I have done simple layouts in regards to Santa pics. This year since CJ can finally voice what it was that he wanted for Christmas, I decided to include the list of goodies that he wanted from Santa. This page is based on a sketch found at PageMaps.

Flock to your craft store!

So I was out and about last night, and headed to the craft store in search of some inspiration for the Christmas pages I wanted to work on. I knew I wanted some new Christmas papers, but what else did I need to do these pages? I had no clue. Just that I was sick of using the same things over and over. So I walked around. I headed over to the card making and stamp area and found another new product for me to try. Fun Flock by Stampendous! (click on the link to watch a video!) This stuff is so fun and easy to use. And the texture you get is just wonderful!

For this layout I used the Fun Flock on the letters for "Santa" and the tag that reads "here." These pieces were plain chipboard that I painted red. Then I ran through my Xyron Sticker Maker, face down. After covering with adhesive cover with Fun Flock like you would glitter and tap excess off. The result is a beautiful velvet like finish. For the tag, I adhered letter stickers just before using the Fun Flock.

Just a bit behind......

Hehe.......oh, well.

Here is last year's pic with Santa. I thought I should get this scrapped before we take this years pic. This layout is based on a sketch from PageMaps.

Altered Countdown Clipboard

With the holidays right around the corner, here are two clipboards to help you count down the days!


The first thing you want to do is alter the clipboard any way you want. Christmas, Halloween, Vacation, etc. After everything is down and sealed with Mod Podge, do the following.

I found very flat washers that I adhered to the clipboard where the numbers would go. I attached using Tacky Glue, and I think they held pretty well. Then I bought magnet strips to attach to the back of the numbers. Get the flat magnets, not the rolls, these seem to work better and lay flatter.

Here is a pic of the washer and magnet.


I thnk I will hang this close to the refrigerator so that I have easy storage for the rest of the numbers. I did numbers so that I could count down for a month. You will need
0 1 1 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

You can always add a third washer and more numbers if you want to count from further away!

Have fun, and post here if you make one, I would love to see them!

By the way for those on a budget, this project is VERY inexpensive.

Washers (5) .94 @ Walmart
Magnets (5 Strips) .77 @ Walmart
Clipboard .97 @ Walmart
Paper~ Stash
Paint .44 @ Walmart.

Total cost for two projects, $5.85 w/tax

Nothing Negative about Negative Space

Negative space scares the crud out of many scrappers. I used to fear negative space as well. It can be so hard NOT to fill all the area on that large 12x12 space. The goal is to make something that is pleasing to the eye with out it looking crowded or not finished.

I think the first step in creating a negative space layout is to focus on one subject. You need to "ground" that subject/photo so it does not appear to be floating, but it is an intended design tool. I think to do this you need to "anchor" your design to a side or the top/bottom of your page. Some people are very good at placing the subject in the middle of the layout. I have yet to achieve this. So I stay near the sides or the top/bottom of my layout. Of course this all just preference.

In the sketch and layout below, I have achieved a pleasing negative space layout by anchoring my subject to the bottom of the page, and allowing the top to remain free. This brings the focus directly to my subject and the feeling I am trying to express.

Please feel free to try this sketch or make your own layout using negative space. I think you will like the results.