New Kit Challenge

So over at the 2PeasRefugees board, crystalb shared the Bash It Challenge. In talking to her about how great that challenge was for getting me to use some of my stash, she asked me for my input on a kit challenge she wanted to create. I am terrible at creating my own kit. I have to be honest and say that. I need more guidance. I can't just look at a picture and run to my stash and make a kit. I need a recipe. Get a striped paper, a floral, and a big pattern. Something like that. Well, Crystal delivered!  Here is my kit:

My kit, which I haven't named yet. Maybe I'll call it Take the Leap. As in, I'm taking a leap and actually making my own complete kit. How does that sound? Anyway, Take the Leap is full of a variety of papers and embellishments from an assortment of manufacturers. From cardstock to stripes, stars to stamps, this kit feels like it has a little bit of everything.

Here are all my papers. I have kraft, dark blue, pink, green, and yellow card stock. The pink, green, and yellow are all from BoBunny and have dots on one side and a soft brushed look on the other. I've always treated it as cardstock and not patterned paper so I will continue with that during this challenge. For patterned paper, I have supplies from October Afternoon, Shimelle, Echo Park, Amy Tangerine, Bella Blvd, and Basic Grey.

Embellishments were harder for me to gather. They're not perfect matches but should work. My messy element are the two spray mists - Heidi Swapp's Color Shine Gold and Tattered Angels Chalkboard Mist in Teal High Heal. I pulled wooden elements and a small pack of sequins to use as bulky elements. The wooden tags are from a Freckled Fawn kit (I think). Small hearts from Studio Calico and two script words by Heidi Swapp. I have a 3x4 wooden card with "wish" and a star shape cut out of it. That was made by Two Peas in a Bucket. I had to have it and then never used it! This month, that sucker is getting on a page!

Next on the list was die cuts or ephemera. I have Simple Stories Summer Vibes Bits and Pieces. I also found a die cut work that's been on my magnetic board so long the paper backing has aged in color. It's the thin word "silly" I cut with my Cameo probably five years ago. I wish I was exaggerating with that time! I think it's Ali Edwards handwriting from a file I bought from Designer Digitals.

Moving on, for little letters sticker, I have some from Crate Paper and October Afternoon. I've already pulled another color of the OA letter stickers for the first layout I've already created from this kit. Stay turned for that post shortly. I grabbed two stamps - an Amy Tangerine roller stamp and an acrylic set from Citrus Twist kits from August 2014.

The final items were of our own choice. I grabbed a pack of ribbon from Making Memories. The date on the back is 2007! Ten years old and I haven't used even an inch of it. Washi had to be added so I chose two with metallic gold. Last but not least, two spools of bakers twine complete my kit.

So, what do you think? Head over to 2PeasRefugees and join us in the March Build Your Own Kit Challenge. I can't wait to see what you create! I'm going to leave you with some close up shots. Leave a comment on your favorite piece of the kit if you'd like!

Sister Date

Today I decided to try my hand at making a page from scratch. The pages from a couple days ago, if you remember, had the paper already picked out and laid down as starting points. I've always loved to follow sketches and the one Shimelle posted recently on her blog spoke to me. I ended up printing a photo of my sisters and I on a "sister date" over Christmas this past year.

I found it so hard to choose paper for this! I don't know if I did any traditional pages at all in 2013. I really do love Project Life. However, only scrapping that way has made me forget about pulling out paper and supplies to create a page from scratch. I almost gave up! Yes, there was that much anxiety. Crazy, I know. But, I'm glad I kept going. I pulled out some Amy Tan stuff from her Sketchbook line (paper, stickers, and stamps) and got to work!

One thing I loved about Shimelle's sketch was that there was only one photo. One thing I didn't like was that everything was so centered! I've noticed those centered layouts are harder for me. Again, I just told myself to breathe and I watched her video. The video made it so much easier! I'm quite glad she does them. 

Enough chatter...on to the page!

I added some turquoise washi tape to kind of match the blue paint stripe at the top right. I also added the date and location at the bottom right which was not in the sketch. I like putting dates there, or if my daughter is in the picture, how old she is. I love how the page turned out. The colors are fun and reflect the fun we had that night just chatting and eating and making memories which is what Christmas is all about.