My First Steampunk Challenge!

Ok I love, love love the steampunk style...kinda strange & creepy but really beautiful too. I have been an admirer of others for quite a while but never tried to make something myself.  I stumbled upon this blog: Sandee and Amelie's Steampunk Challenges where they host a new steampunk themed challenge every month.  This month there must be a matchbook or matchbooks used in the project.  I was oohing and ahhing over everyone else's projects when the idea hit that the matchboxes would make cute little books. I found an empty printer's tray under my bed and using what I had on hand, altered this tray using 3 different lines of Graphic 45 paper (Steampunk Debutante, Olde Curiosity Shoppe, and the brand new Steampunk Spells). I bought them because I loved the designs, but had no idea what to do with them!I altered each little window with the paper and made little "spell books" with the matchboxes. This was a really fun project to do, I did struggle with where to place things but ultimately like how it came out. I am still working on photographing my projects to show the true colors, it seems my phone takes better shots than my camera, but I am learning! Oh, and the prize for this month's challenge is the "messy head" collection by 7 Dots which I want REALLY bad!!
Thanks for looking!

Wish me luck!

Challenge~ Use Your Words

Hello, here is a mixed media canvas I created for the Use Your Words Challenge Site. They post 2 challenges per month where you have to incorporate a certain word in your layout, card or canvas.  I am entering this in the August 15th challenge where you have to use the word "believe."
 I am so glad I stumbled upon this fun website, I am really trying take on some challenges the more I get into scrapping, canvases, etc.  It helps to get the creativity going when you have a starting off point and also many beautiful inspiring projects to look at! Here is my canvas:

It is titled "believe" and I also have the quote "believe impossible things" from Unity Stamps.  This canvas was so fun to make.  I was experimenting with adding texture and used brown packaging, tissue paper and some Shimmerz Texturez (the bricks). Thanks for looking and have a great day!

The Bubble Room!

Last week my family was fortunate enough to rent a house on Captiva Island, where it was just so beautiful and relaxing!

This is the view from our front window. Just amazing!

The beautiful Gulf~

 Birdie footprints...

A manatee nose! There were a bunch of these near the marina where the dolphin cruise left out of.

Here we are on the dolphin cruise, so cool! The dolphins swam along side then jumped, flipped, floated on their backs and basically put on one heck of a show, it was great!

The first night we were in Captiva we ate a place called "The Bubble Room." The place is filled with vintage treasures and every day is Christmas! The tables were see through and contained toys from the 50's-80's, my daughters wanted to break the glass and steal the dolls...I loved this place so much I was inspired to make a mixed media canvas with the napkin.

I took this outside of their little store then I left the camera in the car so I don't have any pics of the inside, but it was really fun. 

Here is my canvas...I modpodged the napkin on first, then did some circle resist with the mod podge and gesso. Then I used "perfect medium" through a stencil then embossed to make more little circles. Then added some distress paint, sprayed some inks then added some shells & flowers.  Really fun little canvas to make and I have a memento that will always remind us of our trip.

Thanks for stopping by,
Sarah

Minion Cupcakes!

Back to school this week for my little sweeties so I'm getting some time to myself.  I love it but I miss them at the same time...we got to do so many fun things this summer, but man, they are exhausting! We spent last week in Captiva Island and it was so beautiful and relaxing. The girls did a lot of jet skiing, fishing, swimming, crab races and we even took a dolphin cruise on the last day (my fav). I will be back to share a canvas I created later in the week while I was there.
 So I was grocery shopping when I saw that Twinkies had indeed returned! One of my daughters had never tried them and the other always refused because she thought they were really corn dogs and that I was trying to trick her! I had pinned this "minion" cupcake pin a while back and thought it would make a fun back to school treat for the girls to make.
 This is how theirs came out ~

Arent they cute? I love how each one has it's own little personality and expression!  These were so easy for the girls to make, and fun...just cut the Twinkies in half, drew details in black frosting pens and slapped some smarties on for eyes. 

I love to feed the dolphins!

Hello....just wanted to post a LO of me feeding the dolphins at Sea World on Mother's Day....one of my favorite things to do, I just love them!  We are so fortunate that we live in FL so we can see them playing in the ocean any time!  I am entering this in a few contests if I can.  I know I'm not good enough yet to be entering contests, but I don't care.  It keeps me motivated and gives me a starting off point. I am entering on the S.W.A.T. website for a triangle sketch layout.  Thanks for looking and have a great day!

 

2 Layouts for Scraps of Darkness challenges and Scrap FX challenge

Good Morning...sharing two layouts I made this week. The first I made with limited supplies as I was in MA on vacation.  I used my Scraps of Darkness kit club papers, Prima embellies and colored some modeling paste gold and scraped it through a stencil for texture.  I simply love this stuff. I have to stop myself from going crazy with it on every layout!! I submitted this LO to the Scraps of Darkness design team challenge (by DT member Kasha Gray) which called for texture.

The next one uses the fabulous new Bohemian Bazaar paper by Graphic 45.  I love the super vibrant colors and patterns.  This LO features a picture of my sister and nephew...I was dying to use this picture and thought the colors matched perfectly.  I had a lot of fun cutting, distressing, misting and arranging this page.  It's hard to capture the textures with my camera phone!  I admit I'm not very patient so when I'm done I want to post things right away and I'm not always concerned with taking the best pics.  Got to work on that! I am entering this into the Scraps of Darkness monthly sketch challenge.

I also have entered this is the Recipe challenge for Scrap FX that required the color teal, a feather, stencil, embossing and flowers.  Thanks for looking!

"Sweet Dream" layout for Scrap Around The World Challenge

Hello all, I have just finished my layout for my first ever challenge for a challenge blog called "Scrap Around The World."  I just love, love loved both the mood board and the sketch for this so I wanted to give it a try.  I must admit that this layout took forever!!! I kept arranging and rearranging my elements, trying to make it "right." There are really some unbelievable artists who compete on these blogs and I really don't think I'll win but I really wanted to challenge myself. It was strange to be so self conscious of what I was creating and to have to conform it to specifications, but it was fun and I liked the way it came out. It only my fourth layout so I know I will get better!

  When I saw the challenge I immediately knew which picture I would use.  This is my daughter only a few weeks old sleeping on my bed looking so angelic sweet. 

 

I gessoed the 7 gypsy papers, added modeling paste, stamps, washi tape, prima flowers, prima trinkets, prima masks and then colored the hexagon chipboard with shimmerz texturez.

Isnt she the cutest thing?

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, I really appreciate it!