Where has July gone???

We're already halfway through July???
How did that go so quick??

Halfway through July means that CSI has a new case up for you to solve!! Here's the case file :

I chose not to make a page for this one, but if you're interested in participating, you can grab more details here : Case #234. Don't forget that by participating, there's lots of great prizes to be won over at CSI, plus you'll be joining in with a really great community of crafty people! I hope you'll come play with us!


Even though I didn't create with Case #234, I do have a layout to share with you today.

A long time scrappy friend of mine has three small people in her house, a professional photography business to run, and no time to be crafty anymore. When we chatted over messenger about it, I offered to make some pages for her, and she sent me photos via email. This page is the third of three, and I think my very favorite of them all!!

Isn't she just beautiful?? I loved the quiet softness of these photos, and how girly they felt. The colour palette that I pulled from the photos are just so appealing to me right now and the papers all came from one of my favorite, now defunct companies, Basic Grey. The line that I used is called "Barista", and I think it is the best collection they've ever made. I used the 6x6 paper pad for this layout.

To create the background, I took pieces of some of the papers, matching cardstock and some washi tape from my stash; layering and piecing them together. In thinking about it afterwards, it probably would have been easier to adhere all those strips and pieces to a 12x12 piece of plain cardstock to start with, but I did not. Next time I will remember.

Here's some closeups :

Under the photo I used a 4x12 piece of polka dot velum with the end rolled and tied for an interesting design element. I love the softness that velum can bring to a layout and that's why I added it here.

The little badge that you see on the photos comes from this little Etsy shop : Accent Scrapbooking par kjkareen. I found her shop when she offered a prize over at CSI and I happened to win it before becoming a member of the DT. She has some really great badges and I would encourage you to check her shop out!!

Also here you can see the round kraft journaling spot under the photo, which came from the Etsy shop of the friend I made the page for. She isn't operating the shop anymore, but I thought it fitting to try and get some of her product on the page, plus the design and colour totally suited the feel of the layout.

And here, a closeup of the floral cluster in the right hand top corner of the layout. In digging through my stash I found some florals that matched the colour of the ones in the photo almost perfectly, so, even though I don't usually work much with flowers, I felt the layout had to have some. The "leaves" here are actually just one - a maple leaf that I folded to make it look more like the leaf of a flower instead of the leaf of a tree. The flower itself is actually two, with the bottom one cut to layer it under the top one better. Here you can also see the lace tape that I added at the last minute - another girly touch that worked well with the photos.

Not going to lie, and maybe somewhat selfishly, I think this is the best work that I've ever produced! Truly, truly, truly, I love absolutely everything about this page. I may just have to try and scraplift myself!! Making these pages for my friend has also brought me such joy - it makes me happy to be able to create for others.

Thanks for popping by and checking out my page today!

Happy 150th and CSI #233

Happy Canada Day!!

Today marks Canada's 150th birthday. It also feels like it is about the 20th day in a row that there's been rain of some sort here in my part of Ontario. Seriously, I know people who are canoeing in their front yard today. I want to say that we as a family are participating in some event to mark Canada's birthday but we probably won't, just like every other year. We are so unpatriotic....

Today also marks the opening of a brand new case over at CSI : Color, Stories, Inspiration!!

Here's the case file :

And here's what I made with it :

Now, the first thing I thought when I saw this combo was "ugh, pink". I find working with pink to be difficult, but mostly because it is NOT my favorite colour. But the other colours in the combo are very pretty, so that helped a lot. The photo on this layout shows my "spot" on the couch. I'm afraid I'm a bit like Sheldon..... Every Saturday morning I'm up before everyone else in the house and that's where I sit and enjoy my 2 cups of coffee in my pjs. In the background you can see just a bit of my scrapbooking corner.

Here's how I solved this case :

COLOURS & SKETCH

All of the colours are there & I followed the sketch fairly closely. I chose to use one large picture rather than 2 smaller ones on top and made the 3rd picture at the bottom my journalling spot instead.

EVIDENCE

Stripes - pink patterned paper
V-Pattern - yellow patterned paper
Flowers, Leaves - crocheted flower and leaf stick pin
String - framing the photo
Cursive / brush font - title
Decorative border - white triangle border under the photo
Stack something - there's stacking going on all over this page!! =)
Wood
Triangles

TESTIMONY

I chose the "document a weekend ritual" AND the "handwrite on a journaling spot" prompts

JOURNALING

(starts with the title of the page) TAKING TIME TO BE STILL and enjoy the quiet before everyone else is up. Time to think and reflect gives me a clearer head for the coming week.

As always, here's some detail shots :

So this whole layout was was created on a 12 x 12 piece of Basic Grey patterned paper. I'm currently hoarding my Basic Grey, since that particular company is, sadly, no more. By chance I happened to lay a 12 x 12 piece of vellum over it and I really loved the result!! So the patterned paper and the photo are under the vellum and the embellishments and journaling is on top. I like the slightly cloudy appearance that the vellum gives the layout.

Here's a closeup of one of the "stacks" on my layout. The flower is at the bottom, then the frame and the pins, and finally the little chipboard girl on top.

This photo is showing the title work. The word "to" is taken from another wooden word ("today") and used here. My favorite wooden pieces have always been the little Tweets, but this one had lost a leg. I made the choice to take the other one off too, and there he sits. Here also you can see the washi tape that I used on the bottom and top sides of the layout. I've never really liked my handwriting that much, but once in awhile I try and add it to a layout.

And finally, this is a closer look at the string frame around the photo. I usually don't measure for anything on a layout, but found that for this frame I really HAD to! This is actually attempt #2 to get it right. The first time around I ruined a sheet of vellum and the patterned paper below. There's a lot of scotch tape holding the back of the layout together!!

Thanks for popping by to check out my page today! I hope you'll play along with us!