Welcome to the My Sketch World Blog Hop

Calling all layout sketch lovers! We’ve asked our designers to choose their favourite layout sketch and challenge their partner to show you ways to create fabulous layouts, each with their very own a twist!  Our international designers on this hop are:

My Sketch World 

Ann Jobes

Bev Code

Christa Uttley (you are here)

Cindy Noesen (go here next)

Deb Long

Ginni Gass

Joan Borgelt

Malin Rimby

The MSW details:

1. Visit each blog and leave a comment. Read carefully, there may be individual requirements as some designers are offering little prizes of their own!

2. After you have visited each Designer's blog come back to My Sketch World blog and let us know what you thought. Part One of the hop ends Monday, December 5th, 11:59 EST.

3. Everyone who posts a comment on each blog will be entered to win! Winners will be randomly chosen.

4. To receive an additional entry, scraplift a layout and link it back to the My Sketch World blog (in your comment) and tell us what inspired you!

5. Have fun! Be inspired! Part Two of this hop begins December 10,2011.

My challenge partner Joan gave me this gorgeous sketch:

Joan challenged me to distress and distress and distress; as we all like to do. I DO like to distress and I must admit that I have made two attempts at this challenge. I used the same photo but with two sets of paper. My first attempt I chose Fancy Pants St. Nick paper and a photo of my son and my Mom. The St. Nick paper is gorgeous and really lent itself to the distressing but I must admit I couldn't get the layout to come together. I actually deliberated for THREE WEEKS after I got the paper down!

In fact, it was THURSDAY this week and I still didn't have my post ready!   I decided to start from scratch. So I threw out the Fancy Pants! The design you see below does not include much distressing except some inking of edges. I have failed miserably in Joan's challenge to me but this attempt came together in in under an hour and I really am happy with it.  I hope you'll be inspired to distress and try this sketch.

Here's the final design:

I had some beautiful Bella Blvd. Christmas Wishes paper and added some doodle bug twine in a pattern around the outside of the large circle.

I also used my Silhouette to cut a funky Christmas tree and heart. I added some Liquid Applique to the branches and heat it with the heat tool so it looked like snow.



Here is the completed little Christmas tree.

I also chose two kinds of red glittery letters (Thickers and MMBI) as well as these awesome little letters from Lily Bee in black for my title. I really like how they flow together with the different fonts.



I hope you let this design and the process inspire you. Remember: if something isn't working, don't be afraid to start again til you get it right!

A Prize you say?

In addition to the prize offered at My Sketch World, of a $10 to A Walk Down Memory Lane, I am offering this gorgeous prize pack from Authentique to inspire you! If you would like to win, just leave me a comment and if you become a follower and let me know you did, I will give you another entry! If you are already a follower (Thanks So Very MUCH!) let me know that too! I will choose a random entry from all comments left here and announce it on my blog Tuesday, December 6th. Be sure to leave me an email address or blog address so I can contact and thank the winner!

Go and see my friend Cindy next!

Keep doing what you love!

Christa

A "Hole Lotta Fun" and MSW December Reveal



This month, Lucy challenged her designers with a double page design. I chose some Echo Park paper and pictures of my daughter eating a donut.

Started with a white background and splattered some multi coloured water colours. I love this transparent colour awash on the page. I then added the patterned paper sections and used the Silhouette to cut the title (except "Sweet", which are Thickers), and the large donut shapes.

The "o" in HOLE and the the other donut shape have beads that I added to mimic the sprinkles on Adriane's donuts.  I added some Beacon's 3-in-1 glue and the beads and pressed them down gently. Here's a close-up:

I thought the beads added visual interest and texture to the page. Overall I am very pleased with the design and I hope you like it too! Be sure to stop by the MSW blog and see what everyone else is creating!

I hope too to see you here tomorrow for the start of the My Sketch World Blog Hop!

Til next time keep doing what you love to do!

Christa

Friends Are Cool

My daughter is blessed with many great friends. Her two best friends live two doors down on either side of us and her dance troop is filled with wonderful, polite and enthusiastic friends.  This past fall my daughter's very cool friend, Lauren came over and we went to the mall for some girl fun and snacks! Lauren is such a delightful girl with wonderful manners and similar interests as Adriane. When I asked Adriane recently what she really liked about Lauren she said, "Mom, Lauren is so nice. She never says anything bad about ANYBODY ever...and she likes the same things I do..Disney and the mall and dance and stuff."

Well, that says it all doesn't it. I am grateful she has wonderful friends and proud that she appreciates them.

Here's the layout I made to remember that day based on a sketch from my talented friend, Laura Whitaker.

 And here is the sketch:

Thanks for a wonderful sketch Laura! I used the Christmas line from Bella Blvd in a non-Christmas-y way. and I paired it up with an older yellowswirl from Stampin UP!, Swiss Dot white and Bazzil pom pom trim.
I hope you are getting in some creative time!

I also wanted to mention some upcoming events you should be sure to check out"

We Scrap has their 12 Days of Christmas Event at their blog beginning December 1.
My Sketch World has two blog hops one beginning December 3 and the other on December 10th.
Finally, Two Scrapbook Friends blog hop begins December 10th!
So much Holiday fun. just around the corner.

Hope to see you here for the Two Scrapbook Friends and My Sketch World Blog hops.
Keep doing what you love!
Christa

We Scrap Sketchy Saturdays

Every Saturday the Inspiration Team at We Scrap posts a wonderfully creative sketch. This weeks sketch by the very talented Sarah Nolan, featured a single photo and lots of room for creative licence!
Here's the Sketch:

And here's what I made:

I used some of my recently received contest goodies from Two Peas and Authentique. I layered the Splendid collection and sewed like crazy in a contrasting thread. I added a large flourish from American Crafts after sanding it and inking it. I did the same with the title which are some older blue letters. The frame around the photo is also American Crafts and I thought it matched their eyes!  A few Martha Stewart punched butterflies and VOILA!

I should mention that I put the cream piece with the journalling through my printer and added the text in brown. I did a few practice sheets for placement. I hope you'll let me know what you think!

Until next time, be sure to stop in say "Hi!" at the WeScrap forum and pop in on Sarah..you will be inspired!

Keep doing what you love!
Christa

Family

While my friends in the U.S. are gearing up for their Thanksgiving and Christmas prep is well on its way here in Canada, it gets me to thinking about family. Through the good and the bad and the ugly..family sees you through. For me, family has come to include my very bestest bud, Carey and her beautiful children. You may have heard me tell of our weirdly symbiotic relationship before, but very recently Practical Scrappers asked us to create a layout especially for them using old Christmas lines in a new way.  I chose a gorgeous photo from the talented photographer, Angela Smith of Waterloo.

I distressed the edges here quite a bit in keeping with the background and feel of the paper. I added brown and black inks together to tone down the white core-edges. I also sanded the large Bo Bunny Chipboard letters and added the brown and black ink to distress them and make them less shiny. The flourish is Bo Bunny too and was originally black so I sanded it down and added the black/brown ink. I also tied the black twine around the lower title area to create focus on the title and anchor the page.

The large circle and the two smaller ones are from Harmonie and are inked and sewn to the page! It's quite easy to get your needle to go over those larger elements on the machine. I had tea dyed a Fancy Pants doilie and placed it underneath too.

A final note, is the fussy cut white flower (a poinsettia!) added the acrylic bud and a gorgeous jewelled pin.

I am in love with the photo and I hope the layout does it justice. Carey really liked it and truth be told, that's why I did it.

Hope you are enjoying your holiday preparations whatever they may be,

Christa

Thank You Two Peas In A Bucket

Hello!
You may remember that a few weeks ago I mentioned that I won a contest at Two Peas In A Bucket. Every month they have a challenge sponsored by a manufacturer. I entered a few entries in the challenge using Authentique product. Included in the box were TWO lines!
Here is what Two Peas sent me (and so quickly too!):

I love the paper, of course, but the cardstock stickers and tags are gorgeous. Here's a few close ups:

I wanted to thank Authentique and Two Peas  for their generous prizes. I will be playing along this month again!

I love this company so much I will be giving away some as a prize for a blog hop in December!

Thanks for helping me do what I love to do!
Christa

More Monday!

Howdy fellow blogophiles! I am thinking that this Monday I am going to share with you a layout I made from the Authentique sketch challenge posted first Saturday of the month.  If you have read my blog of late, you will know I am a big fan of this fledgling company with big ideas and a heart of gold.

I decided to use some more of my Journey collection to make this layout about my Bo-Bo and my parents 'shug' Bella. Bo is very young here and Bella is being very tolerant!



First, I turned the sketch on it's side. Then I machine stitched the outside and the margins between the patterns. I also placed a rounded corner piece under each photo to seperate it from the pattern visually.

I also made this card to go with the card sketch! Same collection , who can blame me?!

The nice thing about sketches is that they can be used as a jump off point for your creativity. You can stick as close to the sketch as you like or use elements of it for your design.

Thanks Authentique! I look forward to MORE of your inspiration next week with the colour challenge!

Til then keep doing what you love!

Christa