A Soccer Layout and a Song Title- With a Little Flair

I do tons of soccer layouts.  Sometimes it feels like that is all I do.  So I was especially pleased when a friend told me that they were impressed because my soccer layouts all look unique.  That might be the best scrappy compliment I've ever received.  But it made me think about how I could make my soccer layouts more unique.

So when I had a chance to play this week, I put together this layout with a photograph I had sitting on my desk.

 

Here are some things I did that made this different from other soccer layouts I've done.

• I used a bold pattern as my base.  I often start with a subtle pattern, but almost never use a bold pattern as my foundaytion.  The stripes from Fancy Pants  provided a really fun starting point.
• I limited myself to my scrap pile for the remaining sheets.  That led to an interesting mix of papers.  I even had a scrap of corrugated paper in the pile - who knew that would make a comeback?
• I played with blue and orange ink to add dimension and accent layers.
• I mixed base embellishments from my stash and used nothing that had a soccer or sports theme.  I used a vellum tape strip from Basic Grey and other embellishments from Studio Calico.
• I added a piece of flair from my stash - it added dimension and was a great accent.
• I avoided a sports themed title and used a song title instead.
• And I succumbed to my latest obsession and added sequins.  

I'd love to hear the ways you keep layouts fresh.  Thanks for checking in.  I hope you have a great weekend.

Hook

Last weekend I posted my version of the Studio Calico March add-on named "Wendy."  Well, I had so much fun putting that kit together, that I couldn't resist trying again.  So this morning I pulled together my version of the "Hook" add-on.

It was just as much fun as putting together the last kit, and again, I liked my version just as much as the add-on that sold out in seconds at Studio Calico.

Here's the list of items included in the Studio Calico kit.

Embellishments:
Boy Crazy Enamel Dots (My Mind's Eye)
Bingo Chips Thickers (American Crafts)
Hey Boy Element Sticker (Basic Grey)
Hello Frame in Wood Veneer (Studio Calico)
Hey You Matchbook Alpha - Blue (Basic Grey)
Color Me Happy Woodgrain Washi Tape (Glitz)
Be Waiting 4x3 Stamp Set (Studio Calico + Hero Arts)
Patterned Paper:
Depression (Kesi Art)
Boy Crazy "Point The Way" Paper (My Mind's Eye)
Adventure (Echo Park)
Nollag (Kesi Art)
Marine Mini Dot (Crate)
Apricot Mini Dot (Pebbles)

Here's the kit I came up with --

And here's a list of the items I included:

Embellishments:
He Said/She Said Enamel Dots (Teresa Collins)(the Boy Crazy and Oliver Lost and Found sets worked well too)
Kraft Choose Happiness Tape (Glitz)
Wood Veneer Dots (from a trip to the woodworking store with my husband)
Wood Veneer Shipping Tag (The Container Store)
Turquoise Pennants (Elles Studio)
Flaky Woodgrain Thickers
Cream and Denim Mini Market Alpha (October Afternoon)
Stickers (Basic Grey/Knee Highs & Bow Ties)
Decorative Buttons (My Minds Eye/Collectable/Notable)
Flair (Paper Play Studio)
Patterned Paper: 
Heavenly Houndstooth Paper (MME/So Sophie/Pretty Girl - b side)
Tidewater (Studio Calico/Sundrifter)
Flynn (Studio Calico/Darling Dear)
Adventure (Echo Park/All About A Boy)
Star (Fancy Pants/Trendsetter)
Kick the Can (Basic Grey/Bow Ties)

I'd love to know what you think of my version.  Hope you're enjoying your Wednesday.

Easter

I am tired of dreary winter days and the news is predicting a snowstorm tomorrow and Wednesday.  So I decided to scrap something springy to lighten the mood.  I used sketch 3 at the My Scraps and More Sketch-a-thon as my starting point.  But it was a card sketch and I have to admit that the end product doesn't look a lot like the sketch.  But you can judge for yourself.  Here's the sketch.

And here's the layout I came up with.

You had to use punched images in your layout.  I have an old creative memories punch I used for the small butterflies.  I punched them from the October Afternoon pie chart patterned paper on the bottom of the layout, positioning the punch to get different colors on the wings.  The base paper is from Creative Memories and the orange paper is from KI Memories.  The embellishments are from Basic Grey, My Minds Eye, and Amy Tangerine.  The chipboard butterflies were in my stash.

The snow is supposed to start here during the day tomorrow so I'm hoping for a snow day on Wednesday.  Stay warm and have a great week

Sketch-A-Thon

The My Scraps and More sketch-a-thon started Friday and runs for the entire month of March.  A sketch is being posted each day and you earn points through the month for a chance a the grand prize - items from the OA Cakewalk collection.  Here's the first sketch. 

This sketch is great and was perfect for an adaptation to a two page layout.  (Since I only have three months to finish Nicholas's high school albums, I am looking for inspiration for the two page layouts for those projects.)  The MSM challenge also asked that you use two different alphas on your project.

My layout is about joining a new soccer team after the high school season ended.  And I did use the sketch as a starting point for a two page layout.   Heres what I came up with:

My design is really simple and uses papers from Creative Memories and Fancy Pants.  The large stars are from Etsy and had been in my stash for almost a year.  The soccer balls are from Jolie and were in the value spot at Archivers.  I used two different sets of Thickers for my title and used pop dots to vary the height of the letter tiles.  The red stars are Jenni Bowlin and the white stars came from a Studio Calico kit.

I'm hoping to have more scrap time today.  Enjoy your Sunday!

The "Wendy" kit - My Way

The Studio Calico Wendy kit

 On Wednesday Studio Calico released their March kit, which were named after the Peter Pan movie,  for sale.  They sold out in .  record time both during the subscriber presale and the midnight reveal.  I'm one of those disappointed souls who didn't get the add-ons they wanted.  But let's face it - I have plenty of supplies.  So I've shopped my stash, added a couple of new things and made my own version of the add-ons.  Today I am sharing my version of "Wendy."  This is the official list of the contents of the kit Studio Calico offered.

Wendy contents

Embellishments:
Wish Thickers - Blue (American Crafts)
Hey You Mini Envelopes (Basic Grey)
Amy Tan Whittles Sentiments Cloths Pins (American Crafts)
Collectables "Perfect" Tiny Word Stickers (My Mind's Eye)
Amy Tan Remarks Discovery Stickers (American Crafts)
Vellum Grey Speech Bubbles (Twine + Ink )
Today I 2x2 Stamp Set (Studio Calico + Hero Arts)

Patterned Paper:
Anti-cyclone (Kesi Art)
Atmosphere (Kesi Art)
Ring Around The Rosies (Basic Grey)
My Girl "Pinwheel" Paper (My Mind's Eye)
Trust (American Crafts)
Understand (American Crafts)

And here is my version of the kit:

Wendy - My Way - Contents

Embellishments:

Treasure Thickers (American Crafts/Dear Lizzy)

Serendipity and Shine On Mini Envelopes (Basic Grey)

True Love Stitched Brads (Basic Grey)

Simplify Detail Stitched Vellum Embellishments (American Crafts/Amy Tangerine)

Amy Tan Remarks Discovery Stickers (American Crafts)

Heart shaped speech bubble wood chips (Freckled Fawn)

Watering Can Label Stickers (October Afternoon)
Patterned Paper:
Noteworthy (American Crafts/Dear Lizzy/Lucky Charm collection)
Pop (Studio Calico/Heyday/ B side)
Thoughtful (American Crafts/Amy Tangerine/Yes Please collection)
Understand (American Crafts/Amy Tangerine/Yes Please collection)
Penny's Pinafore (Sassafrass/Sweetly Smitten collection)
Trust (American Crafts/Amy Tangerine/Yes Please collection) 

I replaced the clothespins with brad and the speech bubbles with the wood chips - both switches that substtituted products that are better suited to my style than the products in the original kit.  And it cost a fraction of the add-on at Studio Calico.  And since I'm not much of a stamper, I won't miss the stamps; I added label stickers instead.  But if they were important to me, I would add the digital images from the SC shop.  And I had fun putting it together and rediscovered some things in my stash that I had forgotten about.  Now I can't wait to do my versions of the Hook and Lost Boys add-ons. 

I'm hoping to have time to play in my scrap room this weekend.  Hope you get to do something fun too.  Enjoy your Saturday.