"Gutsy Lady" -All About Mom Challenge at Frosted Designs

Happy Friday Friends and Followers! Katie here to share the details of our brand new challenge that starts today! Our challenge this week is all about Mom! Whether you are a mom, stepmom. grandmother, or just hope to become a mother one day, sooner or later we all quote our mothers and we all hold them dear to our heart as fabulous women in our lives. Using inspiration from our mood board create any project, layout, card, or art journal page for this challenge! Link up to the blog no later than 12:00 midnight, Wednesday, May 21st to be entered to win Top 3 or the grand prize generously sponsored by Close to My Heart/ Amanda Baird. You will win a fabulous CMTH stamp set with block & a coupon for a future CTMH purchase! Please visit Amanda's website here.

Here is our lovely, yummy mood board to get your creative juices flowing :

Here are a few pictures of the layout I have created. Most of the items I used can be found in the Frosted Designs store!

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I love getting & reading all your comments! I hope to be popping by to all your blogs soon to leave some comment love! Until next time Peace Y'all~

Punctuation Challenge at Frosted Designs

Hi there friends and followers! Its Friday again and you know what that means- its a new Fabulous Friday Challenge over at Frosted Designs! This week we are challenging you to use any type of punctuation mark on your card or layout these include: *&%^$()#@~!<> except periods, those are too easy- they are circles! The sponsor this time is Deep Red Stamps which is a great company with some great products, I already own the heart swirls stamp and the steampunk sparrow which are both made in the USA!!!

So here are a few pictures of my layout, I started with some of the fun, funky & vibrant papers from the Bella Blvd 'Snapshots' Collection. I then played with mists, inking and distressing as always, and more fun coloring my wood veneers with gelatos. I am loving this technique lately, I am thinking I may need to do a mini tutorial here on the blog soon about all the ways I have discovered how to color my wood veneers!!! The possibilities are endless...hmm that's an idea.Ok, on to the good stuff:

I entitled my layout #carmietales because everytime I take a photo of our sweet kitty who has TONS of personality I hashtag it with that on my instagram. It makes it easyto go back later and get all the pics together plus I could tell a friend or family member to search #carmietales on instagram and all my pics would pull right up! Gotta love technology!!!

That is all for today, short and sweet for ya. I would love to go around and give everyone some comment love, I will be off again Monday & Tuesday but I have alot to do, which includes starting to pack for our move on the 15th as well errands...but I am hoping to squeeze in studio time. I am dying to start my next art journal page now that my goodies from the FD store arrived:

Ok friends, have a great weekend and don't forget to link up your puncuation project to the FD blog by next Friday!!! Have fun & get scrapping!!!

Tuesday Night Music Club & The Monday Blues

Hi friends! The page I am sharing today was inspired by the mood  board challenge we have going on right now over at Frosted Designs. The challenge was to use the colors, photos or overall theme from our mood board to inspire your project! Here's a a peak at the board, entitled " winter blues"

I was mostly inspired by the overall color scheme of the board, the dark blues, the greenish blues, the teal-greenish blues in the blue bird and leaves, the brown from the branches, the warm pinkish hue from the latern, and the white for my background from the snow. I also really don't have alot of 'snow' pictures yet since we really haven't gotten any this year and I took the idea of the coffee cup and was inspired to use a pic of another type of drink. You could pretty much say I loosely intrpreted the mood board but it immediatley made me think of these very funny pictures that bring back alot of memories for me from August 2013. Here is a little sneak of me in mid-process... cup of cammomile tea on my desk! I took this one on instagram last night, I would love it if you'd follow me @khhollister

So here is a pic of how the overall layout turned out. I didnt originally intend to be so 'messy' last night but I was feeling inspired and had fun with some inks, mists, gelatos, and masks. I also didnt want to cover up my 'white' background too much so I ended up cutting up the other paper I wanted to use into hexagons and distressing all the edges.

I also covered the Um wow chipboards with dylusions spray in white linen. After I had them in place I doodled my rain drops. I added a few random embellies from my stash and to finish off my clusters some mini pearls and Prima Everyday Vintage Sugar Dots.

This lovely little lady was made with modge- podgeable shapes and some G45 paper. Ive had her in my stash for a while along with about 40 other shapes I decorated to sell at a convention I was working 2 years ago. I thought she was just perfect for this page & fit my blueish-green color scheme.

Well everyone, that is it for today! I hope you have enjoyed my messy page. It was alot of fun to make, sometimes going into something without a plan is actually better. I can't wait to get back in the studio and start a new art journal page as well as some other projects. I hope to have another share for you soon, maybe some birthday cards!!! Enjoy your day & don't forget you have plenty of time to join in our 'winter blues' challenge over at frosted designs. Link up your layout, project or card for a chance to be in our Top 3 or win a fabulous prize from our sponsor, which is a gift card to the fabulous frosted designs store!!!. Until next time, peace y'all~ VV

Products Used from the Frosted Designs Store: Fab Scraps 'shabby chairs' striped background paper, Bella Blvd Snapshots- dark blue cloud paper, Um Wow Chipboard layered clouds, Dylusions ink spray- white linen & calypso teal, Faber Castel Gelatos- teal & white, Faber Castel Gesso, Heidi Swapp Honeycomb stencil, Mini misters, Prima Everyday Vintage Sugar Dots, stickers from Carte Bella Wildflower collection pack.

Other: Tim Holtz distress ink in broken china, Crate paper- blue scalloped paper, mod podgeable shapes, mini crochet doilies Michael's, mini pearls Michaels 2 styles of Thickers by American Crafts, Tim Holtz distress stickles faded jeans.

Stuck?! Sketch Challenge + Ink sponsored by Frosted Designs

Hi everyone! And Happy New Year!! I have been seriously neglecting my blog lately, but it's not been on purpose. I got a major virus on Christmas Day with flu like symptoms and fatigue for 3 days, then right after that my hubby got the virus, only his morphed into stomach issues and he couldn't keep anything down for 4 days, while I am supposed to go back to work instead I'm spending all free waking moments taking care of him. So needless to say, we are almost 100% better but it was not that great of a holiday break for us :( I didn't even do any of the projects I had hoped to start except a few christmas cards that I made to send out to friends and family. I didn't even get to take pictures of them.  But enough of my whining! So sorry friends that you had to listen :(

What  I am here to share today is my reveal for the new challenge over at Frosted Designs! We are sponsoring STUCK?! Sketch of the month this time with a gift certificate to the store! If you haven't checked out all the new products we have in for the new year, you need to go look! We also have an awesome new twist to our monthly kits, a 'messy fun' option for those inky scrappers like myself who prefer mixed media style projects, or a 'clean fun' option for the more clean lined scrappers who like traditional elements on their pages. The best part about this is its all absolutley free! The messy or clean option is included in the price of the kit, or you can pay a little more and get both options!! Go check out the new 'Love is in the Air'  January kit today at www.frosted-designs.us

The sketch we are using this month is courtesy of STUCK?!

And here is my take on the sketch:

A few close ups of my project . I used papers from the Snapshots collection by Bella Blvd as well as Studio Calico Thataway stickers, Studio Calico wood veneer cameras, and Colorwash tags by Pink Paislee. For the tags I spray inked them with several mists and then inked the edges and doodled on some of them with black marker.

For the wood veneer cameras, I tried a new technique, I actually colored them in with black marker, then inked them up good with embossing ink then some UTEE 'Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel' then heated them. It gave them an overall shiny/ metallic kind of look which I really liked then I added some bling for the 'flash' on the cameras.

So I hope you will join in on our challege this month and play along with the sketch + plus use ink or mist on your card, layout, or off the page project. Link it up to our sidebar on at www.frosteddesigns.blogspot.com and you have until January 29th!!

Until next time, peace y'all~ VV

"My Favorite Things"

Hi everyone, it's Katie here again and you know what that means, time for a new challenge!! It's my turn to host, and I've come up with a fun way to incorporate one of my all time favorite Christmas songs, the 'Sound of Music' was the movie, and 'My favorite things' is the song.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens;
Brown paper  package s tied up with strings;
These are a few of my favorite things.

Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels;
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles;Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings;These are a few of my favorite things.
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes;Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes;Silver-white winters that melt into springs;These are a few of my favorite things.
When the dog bites,When the bee stings,When I'm feeling sad,I simply remember my favorite things,And then I don't feel so bad. 

So the challenge this time is to use any combination of these words as part of your layout or project, at least 3 must be used.I have underlined 12 words since it is the 12th month of the year. For example, the color cream, Angel 'wings' and roses. I can already think of some yummy combinations!! Have fun and we can't wait to see what you create! Link up to the sidebar on the Frosted Designs blog no later than Jan 2nd to be entered to win our fabulous prize, which is A $20 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO THE FROSTED DESIGNS STORE!!!

Here is the layout I have completed for this challenge. The words I have used from the list are: ROSES, MITTENS, BROWN PAPER, STRINGS, SNOWFLAKES. It was fun to use some non-Christmasy papers and turn them into a festive winter layout with a non traditional color palette. The papers I have used are from the Wildflower Collection by Carta Bella, available in the Frosted Designs store. I have also used American Crafts cardstock, Studio Calico wood veneer snowflakes from the weather set, as well as some UM WOW chipboard chevron confetti and Prima Everyday Vintage sugar dots. I also took a lesson from Sundays with Sandee and did some handwritten font for part of my title :) I hope you will join us this time and share your projects on our facebook page too, we can't wait to see what you create!!!

Creativity with Texture: FD challenge

Hi friends and followers! I am popping in today to share my latest project for the new challenge over at Frosted Designs! This time we are challenging you to create any off the page project, mini album, layout or canvas using texture as part of your background elements. Mixed media is so hot right now in scrapbooking, and we wanted to inspire you to get messy with inks, mists, paints, molding  paste, or gesso! So break out your tools and join us this week, the lucky winner chosen by the DT gets a $30 voucher for chipboard and bling from our lovely sponsor, Molossi. We can't wait to see what you create!

Here is my project ( excuse the unedited photos, my laptop died last week and I'm still getting used to this tablet :)

I really enjoyed creating lots of texture on my project background using stamping, a gesso layer first, then mists, and leftover product packaging as well as heat embossing some areas and stamping/ doodling. It's always fun to get messy! We hope you will join us and link up your project to the Frosted Designs blog no later than Oct 10th for a chance to win our fabulous prize from Molossi !!!

Wishing you happy scrapping and a great weekend~ VV


Products used from the New Frosted Designs store:
Melissa Frances paper- Bits and Pieces
Fab Scraps- shabby chairs and shabby mix
MME Cut n Paste chipboard stickers
Faber Castel Gesso
Dylusions Inks by Ranger- Calypso Teal, White Linen

Other product used:
Tim Holtz- distress ink antique linen, distress stickies bundled sage, tumbled glass; distress markers broken China, antique linen, bundled sage, paper distress tool
 Product packaging, prima flowers, Patina metal inks by Ranger, UTEE, heat embossing ink, jet black ink, Hero Arts shadow ink in apricot, Tattered angels glimmering chalkboard inks in apricot nectar and London fog, black doodle pen, vintage button, resin roses, Thickets chipboard stickers alphas and Amy Tangerine thickets, misc stamps, mint lace and tags from stash.