CROPPED DVD Challenge!

A few days ago I posted the example I made for the CROPPED Paper Layerz Challenge HERE.  Now I'm on to the other Mystery Box Challenge, which was to make a card using the masking technique Megan demonstrated in the 1-2-3 Stamp! DVD that everyone received in their box.

I love making Halloween papercrafts.  LOVE!  I'm not sure why exactly.  Maybe it's the colors - I mean, when else do you get to use orange, green, purple and black together with spiders, witches and skulls...? I made some really cute stuff last year (if I do say so myself!).  You can see those HERE. 

I have already found myself buying new Halloween stamps and paper and it's still August! I cleaned up at the $1 bin at Joann's the other night, plus I fell in love with some great new Halloween paper from Stampin' Up!   Megan snagged me the Halloween Lost & Found collection from My Mind's Eye at the Summer CHA Show, so I had that to use along with some Marah Johnson die-cut shapes that I picked up on clearance last year.  I pulled out the Cricut Happy Hauntings cart and flipped through until I found exactly what I was looking for.  Here's my finished card:

Cute, right?  

I started with creating the ghost using the mask technique from the DVD.  I cut the ghost from Happy Hauntings in purple vinyl and put it on a piece of off-white cardstock from my stash.  Then I used Ink Edgerz from Megan Elizabeth in Sweetness and 1am to blend ink all around the ghost.

When I peeled off the vinyl I had a perfect "white" ghost....!

I cut a frame from Happy Hauntings in black, centered it over my image, lightly traced it with a pencil and then cut it out.

I used U Cut it 3D Adhesive Foam from Glue Arts to give my frame a bit of dimension.  

Then I adhered it to pattern paper from Stampin Up! (from the Howlstooth & Scaringbone Designer Paper Collection), which I then adhered to a sheet from Fancy Pants.  I adhered the black lace ribbon (also from Stampin' Up)  before adhering to the front of my card.  Finally I added the embellishments:  brads and tag from My Mind's Eye and bats from Marah Johnson.  I really love how it turned out!

I am SO SO excited for CROPPED and I can't wait to see what everyone makes for this Challenge!

Now...Go Scrap Something!

CROPPED Paper Layerz Challenge!

When Megan told me about this Challenge for CROPPED and asked me to make a sample, I really didn't know where to start.  (In fact, I'm pretty sure I actually groaned out loud - but don't tell her I said that!)

This particular Challenge is to make a layout using two identical pieces of Paper Layerz.  One piece of Paper Layerz is to be used as the background and the other can be cut up and used for embellishments.  You have the option of treating each 4X4 block as a layout onto itself OR you can make one big 12X12 layout.  I decided to go with a one-page 12X12 layout, but I still wanted to design each block.  Yeah, I know that sounds confusing so here's a pic of my Baby Girl layout that will hopefully make more sense:

I used that second sheet of Paper Layerz very carefully so I could really get the most out of it.  Here's all that was left when I was done, along with some of the supplies that I used:

My overall crafting style is pretty clean.  I don't like a lot of clutter, so I know there was definitely room for more doo-dads in each block, but I like having lots of "white space" in my designs...so each block has just a few things to look at.  And of course, I put my baby girl's picture right in the center!

I used Cricut's Plantin Schoolbook for my font and some of the shapes were cut from the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge.  The rest of the embellishments were done with punches from Stampin Up!, EK Success, Fiskars & Martha Stewart - all of which I had in my stash.  The bling is all Sparkle Lightz by Megan Elizabeth.

I'd love to hear from all of you about how how you handled this CROPPED Challenge - so please tell me all about it in the comments!  And if you don't know about CROPPED, there is still a little time to get your Mystery Box right HERE.

Now...Go Scrap Something!

Ohhhh Helllloooo Chevron

I picked up my latest order from Stampin' Up! last night and this fab Chevron embossing folder was part of it.  I couldn't wait to try it out so I grabbed a piece of Coredinations cardstock and my new folder, ran it through the Cuttlebug and then sanded it with this cool new SU! sanding block (you can buy replacement pads for it!).  I LOVE how this turned out....such an easy way to achieve a custom Chevron look in no time at all...

 I also got some fun Halloween Designer Series Paper and the "Toxic Treats" stamp set, along with a pack of Stampin Dimensionals and this "Perfectly Penned" sentiment set:

I really wish I had time to play this morning, but there are chores to be done.  Though just because I can't find time to create right now, doesn't mean YOU can't so....

Go Scrap Something!

Taking a Moment

My girls are starting kindergarten in just over a week.  They are super excited to be going back to school and I'm super excited to have those hours to myself to work on....well....ME.

I plan to spend some of that time crafting and working on a few projects that I've had rolling around in my brain but haven't had the time for.  I'm also starting a small new business venture that could prove to be a ton of fun and I'm going to be helping out a friend who is embarking on a new crafty career of her own.  Making money doing what you love is possible, but it takes hard work and dedication.  Luckily both of us have that...as well as an endless supply of papercrafting supplies...so we are on the right track!

Now...Go Scrap Something!

In Trouble!

I knew I was in trouble when I got this text message from a friend on Friday:

Time flies fast here in BlogWorld and sometimes I just can't keep up.  In my defense, I've been busy most of the summer with making projects and helping Megan get ready for the CHA Summer Show in Chicago.  I got to work at the WorldWin/AboveRubiesStudio.com booth and hang out with Michelle and Stacy from ScrapBands as well as the awesomely fun Tanner Bell from TannerBellDesigns.com.  After 4 days in Chicago, I headed back to Wisconsin with Meg for some girl time and to get some work done that you will be seeing soon over at ARS.

Next on the agenda is prepping for CROPPED - the Biggest PaperCrafting Event of 2012!   Nothing like this has EVER been done in the crafting world and it's going to ROCK!  Make sure you head over the www.croppedevent.com to find out all the details.

Yesterday I finally got some time to just....create.  I attended a Stampin' Up! workshop first and then headed over to my scrappy friend Darlene's fab new scrap studio to keep the crafty mojo flowing.  I had a brand new stamp set to play with too.  This set was a collaboration between Tanner from TannerBellDesigns.com and Megan Elizabeth at AboveRubiesStudio.com and it's just filled with super cute sentiments.
Here's the "Enjoying the Moments" stamp set, which you can find here or here:

Here's the first card I made:

Sentiment stamp from Tanner Bell Designs, image stamp set from Close to My Heart, patterned paper & ink from Stampin' Up!, card base from Recollections.   (Please don't judge my copic coloring too harshly.  I'm taking a much-needed class next month!)

And here's another:

Sentiment stamp from Tanner Bell Designs, image stamp set from Close to My Heart, pattern paper & ink from Stampin' Up!, card base from Recollections, ribbon from Darlene's stash.


My girls start kindergarten in just a couple weeks which means I should have some more time for crafting and blogging - SOON!!


Now...Go Scrap Something!

"Enjoy the Moments!" Blog Hop

Hey Hoppers!  I've got a GIVEAWAY for today's hop, so make sure you read all the way through the end of this post....


So did you hear all about CROPPED - the Biggest Papercrafting Event of 2012?!?!  

All the juicy details about the event are HERE.  I'm going to be there LIVE in Wisconsin cropping with Megan Elizabeth and I hope to see YOU there too!

But before we get to CROPPED in September, we've got the big Craft & Hobby Association Summer Show next week in Chicago.  Megan went with a "Rock Star" theme for this CHA Show and I am SO excited to be a part of it.  I've been helping Megan by creating projects that we can display in her booth next to her fabulous line of paper and embellishments.  


The "My Daddy Rocks" layout I'm sharing with you today is one of the projects I created exclusively for the CHA show.  It was made entirely with Megan Elizabeth products... (except for the ribbon which was from my stash)

This pic is of my husband and one of our twin girls when she was about 18 months old.

Chevron's are so popular right now...they are popping up in everything from fabric to papercraft supplies.  So I decided to create my own chevron pattern using Sparkle Lightz from Megan Elizabeth.  I choose this sheet of Paper Layerz for the background because the light grid pattern made it super easy to make sure the chevron pattern stayed straight and nicely aligned.

The die cuts are from the Rock Princess Cartridge from Cricut.  Everything was cut from Paper Layerz, which is printed on Cut Mates cardstock.  Cut Mates is specifically designed for die cutting machines so it cuts beautifully each and every time.  I really wanted to girly skull to pop so I adhered it using U-Cut It Foam from Glue Arts and Megan Elizabeth.  I love that I can cut it to the exact size I need - (which was pretty small when it came to popping up that bow!)

My title was created using Megan Elizabeth mini Alpha Stickerz and Chip Board Alphabet Stickerz.  And I couldn't help but add some Uptown Girl Sparkle Lightz too! 

 I'm doing a surprise GIVEAWAY for today's hop!  In order to be eligible, you must do just TWO things:

1.  Become a follower on my blog right here at TwoAtATimeDesign and

2.  Go "like" my scrappy facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/BrittenLinn

All followers and Like-ers will be eligible for a random drawing for a surprise goodie box shipped directly from me to you!

Here's the full line-up for today's hop...make sure you don't miss anyone!

http://craftychicsblog.blogspot.com/

http://www.cardmonkeyspaperjungle.com/

http://www.javajencreations.blogspot.com/
http://www.djssundries.blogspot.com/
http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/
http://www.courtscraftcorner.com/
http://caramiller.com/

http://www.twoatatimedesign.com (You are here!)

Be sure to head over to AboveRubiesStudio.com to finish out your hop!

Now...Go Scrap Something!

That's Right...It's Paper

I've been working on samples and displays for Summer CHA 2012 in Chicago.  This necklace was one of the first things I made (before we decided to go with a rock star theme.)  I've made other versions of this necklace before...and even had one published in Cricut Magazine last Spring and one this Spring using  Paper Layerz in Crafts N' Things magazine.

The flowers and leaves were cut from the Cricut Flower Shoppe cartridge and I used Sparkle Lightz by Megan Elizabeth for the centers.  I know this doesn't really fit in with our rock star theme, but I think we'll still put it on on display anyway (or I can just wear it!)