Let It Snow: Using Paint On A Layout

We don't get a lot of snow in the Carolinas but when we do, it's cause for celebration.  When my son was 11 months old, he saw his first snow.  

For this layout, I used the cute Bundled Up line from Crate Paper, which was included in the December Kit at My Creative Scrapbook.  The kit was perfect for this photo of my little one being pulled around in the snow in his beloved red wagon. 

My favorite sheet of patterned paper in Bundled Up is this red snowflake one with the cute polka dots on the flip side. I only had one sheet of this double-sided paper, so I carefully cut out the middle and flipped it over. 

I wanted to bring in another color on this layout and chose an aqua paper with big pink polka dots. It was a little too much, though, so I toned it down with paint. I thinned the paint with water then white washed the pink polka dots. 

I loved the snowy effect the paint gave the paper.  Now the layout has a pop of color but it doesn't overwhelm the page.  

One last look. Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back on Wednesday with a tutorial for a shaker card. 

Echo Park Paper: So Happy Together

Last month, I had an extra fun surprise in my design team package from My Creative Scrapbook.  The kit club releases several kits each month and in addition to my regular kit, the owner also sent me the August album kit.  It was filled with Echo Park Paper and lots of fun embellishments. Yay!  I couldn’t wait to play.

Today, I have one of the layouts I made with this kit, which featured EP's So Happy Together collection.  I love this scene paper.  It’s super cute, easy to work with, and I thought the bare pine trees looked a bit like winter. So I decided to make a winter scene.

Using a scene paper makes quick work of a page because much of the design is already done for you.  Here, I used a photo to cover up part of the scene in the lower right (it was more houses and trees) and then let the scene on the paper guide the rest of my design.  

To make the snowclouds, I added white buttons from the kit.  I had them overlap the edges of the clouds a bit so the clouds would look heavy with snow.  The paper had white doodled stitches around the frame and I stitched over those with a machine to add a subtle touch of texture

I added a title next to the photo.  The alphas on the letter sticker sheet weren’t quite the color I wanted so I used an acrylic paint dabber to recolor them.  It worked like a charm.

Here’s a photo of the MCS August Album Kit.  It’s packed full of yumminess.  For more information on this kit or other kits at My Creative Scrapbook, please visit here.

  

Linking here to Tip Me Tuesday.

Handprint Father’s Day Idea & Card

I can’t believe we’re already into the middle of June and Father’s Day is just around the corner. My little guy is so close to my Dad, his Pop Pop, and each year I give Dad a Father’s Day present from Cory.

This year, Cory's giving Dad a painted set of handprints:

This project was really quick and easy to make.  You just need black acrylic paint, heavy cardstock, alphas and a willing toddler.  I painted my son's hands then he stamped them on cardstock.  It's best to do this right before bathtime.  Just sayin'. I got the idea for this project from pinterest.

Last year, Cory gave Dad a green tie:

　

And I’m giving Dad this card:

Which was published last month in PaperCrafts magazine's Card Creations:

How about your kids? What are you working on for Father’s Day?

Linking handprint project to Tip Me Tuesday here.

Goodnight Moon

All parents know: there’s a universal joy in photos of sleeping children. Sure, the kids look sweet and peaceful, but part of that appeal, I suspect, is relief that they are asleep! Or at least this mom confesses to feeling that way.

My son is almost three now and we’re smack dab in never-ending “why” questions, occasional potty training accidents and a constant barrage of go go go go and me me me. He’s wonderful, he really is, and I love him so, but, oh, there is a certain calmness that descends upon the house when he’s asleep. Sigh.

Like many families, we read a story or two (or three) at bedtime. We have many favorites that we circulate, but Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon often seems to muscle its way into the lineup. The book's quiet, rhythmic poetry is the perfect way to end the day.

To scrapbook this photo of my sleeping child, I wanted to incorporate a big crescent moon as the focal point. I hand-drew a moon on a cereal box, then painted the cardboard a pale yellow, adding a little face, a button cheek and a patterned paper nightcap.

I used Webster's Pages Winter Fairy Tales collection for this page. It's the perfect theme and the yellows and greens in this line matched my son's blanket. I arranged the paper so that the script, "Once Upon A Time," would show in the upper corner, then layered a few bits and pieces together.

I added a bit of stitching and a journaling spot to complete the page. The alphas are Cosmo Cricket and the chipboard house is Maya Road.

And now for our winner from Tuesday's giveaway from Graphic45 and 7Gypsies.  I used random.org and #4 was the lucky number:

The fourth comment was from Julie Tucker-Wolek.  Congratulations, Julie.  Please email me your addy and I'll get your prize in the mail to you right away.   Have a great weekend, everyone.