Cupcakes are soooooo nice!

Yes, time for another sketch! It is Saturday and the day the new Unscripted sketch is revealed. 

This one was so fun.  On the sketch, the card front is divided in four parts and so I used my Martha Stewart Score Board to put score lines to define the four areas. 

The sketch has a circle in the upper corner and I thought that a punched out circle to create a little window would be fun.  The cupcaker is a sticker by SRM. 

Here is a close-up of my score lines.  I used a piece of Black Magic Core'dinations cardstock for my card base.  Once I had my score lines in place, I sanded them on the top side of the card and the sanding exposed the green core of the paper. 

Gotta share a few photos...

We have been having such amazing sunsets lately. 

I took our youngest grandson with me so he could play in the sand for a little bit.  I love the silhouette of him and the surfer walking on the shore. 

Is this gorgeous!

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

SKETCH 81 – MAKE A WISH card

Materials list:
Cardstock – Black Magic collection/Core’dinations
Cupcake and sentiment Stickers – SRM
Martha Stewart Score Board
Circle punch and scallop circle punch – Marvy
Border punch - Recollections
Self Adhesive Rhinestones – Queen & Co.
Ribbon
Sandpaper
Foam tape – 3M

Ella Friday sketch, Unscripted sketch

Yeah, I am five for five using the Ella Friday sketches. And, I have kept to my commitment to use these sketches to do some catching up on our youngest grandsons photos.

The sketch is actually meant to be used on a 2 page layout but I only wanted to do a one page so I included almost all of the photos on my one page.

Notice the amazing embossed cardstock used for the background of the layout. This is new cardstock by Core'dinations and Cosmo Cricket. Since I used so many photos, I wanted to keep everything else very simple and I also wanted the cardstock to be able to shine.

The letters for the title are punch out letters by Cosmo Cricket. I like just adding the black and white elements to go with the photos and the green cardstock.

***

And, I also used the Unscripted Sketch #42 for this week. I usually think of these kinds of sketch sites as being for cards but I usually seem to see the possibilities of a layout in their sketches.

I followed the sketch for the photos, the title and the patterned paper and then placed that on a larger piece of cardstock with the accent of that great red print. The cardstocks are Core Essentials by Core'dinations. All of their shades of colors are so great and every piece takes to being sanded really well. All of the patterned papers and stickers are October Afternoon.

Notice the one strip on here that I ran through the Cuttlebug machine with an embossing folder. I love to do this with Core'dinations cardstock because embossing and sanding just makes the core stand out plus this embossing folder has a "boy" look to me.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

DISCOVER layout

Materials:
Cardstock – Cosmo Cricket embossed collection/Core’dinations
Punch out letters for title – Cosmo Cricket
Sandpaper
Machine sewing

HOTWHEEL RACES layout

Materials: Cardstock – Core Essential/Core’dinations

Patterned paper and stickers – Farm Fresh: Farmhouse and Road Map: Skyline Motor Inn/October Afternoon

Cuttlebug embossing folder

Sandpaper

Fiskars Corner rounder punch

Happy "HEART" day

I love to use hearts on my creations all year long but I still love February when we celebrate Valentines Day and our hearts turn to the thoughts of "hearts"!

Gotta share some cards with you...

This card was created to go with a color challenge over at Core'dinations. LOVE the gray with the pink and red. While the hearts make this card work for Valentines Day, I picked the sentiment "happily ever after" so that it also fit for a wedding card.

You might have guessed already, I have another new Martha Stewart punch. This lacey heart is fun and it made the perfect accent for my card.

My crosshatch design was done with a Score-Pal tool and a great piece of Core'dinations cardstock.

The silhouette image on this card is a stamp by Art Declassified. I love the look of silhouette images and this one is perfect for a "love" theme. (unfortunately I discovered that Art Declassified has gone out of business so I can't see where you can get these silhouette stamps)
The coolest thing is all the image needed was to be stamped with black ink.

Notice my accent using a border punch. I punched it in black and in white and put those together.

The black flourish design is cut from a piece of g.c.d. studios patterned paper and a few rhinestones were added to the flourish to add a little bling.

I have shown you the above card before but since it fits my theme for today, I thought you would like to see it again. The design on the cardstock comes on this piece of Jenni Bowlin embossed Core'dinations. All it takes is a little sanding.

The patterned paper, the ribbon and the little calendar spot are all by Jillibean Soup. The calendar spots are a fun way to accent a card.

***

And I just had to share another photo.

This is another one from our outing on a recent rain day.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

HAPPILY EVER AFTER card
Materials:
Cardstock – Core Essentials/Core’dinations
Heart punch – Martha Stewart
Cuttlebug embossing folder
Score-Pal tool
Sandpaper
Fiskars corner rounder punch
Rhinestones – Creative Impressions
Rub-on greeting – Making Memories

VINTAGE COUPLE card
Materials:
Cardstock –Core Essentials/Core’dinations
Patterned papers – Black on White/Cosette Collection/g.c.d. studios
Silhouette couple stamp – Art Declassified
Versamark black stamp pad
Clear embossing powder – Stamp n Stuff
Border punch – Martha Stewart
Rhinestones – Mark Richards, Inc.
Corner punch – Papershapers/EK SuccessSandpaper

I ADORE YOU card
Materials:
Cardstock – Jenni Bowlin collection/Core’dinations
Patterned paper, ribbon and journaling sprout – Jillibean
Chalk stamp pads – Powder Puff/Quick Quotes
Rub-on words – Making MemoriesSandpaper

Boy stuff and Core'dinations

Yes, I have MANY "little boy" photos to scrap and yes, it is fun!!! Both taking them and scrapping them.

I just had to use these October Afternoon products since the blues in the paper went so well with my grandsons shirt. The little splash of red made for a fun accent color.

The circle piece is some Core'dinations cardstock that was embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing plate and then punched out in a circle. The little pieces on that are stickers that match the papers.

I used a piece of Black Magic Core'dinations cardstock and I sanded all of the edges so that great blue color on the reverse side would show off nicely.

I wanted a very simple layout for the photos that I used here. Sometimes I have a big challenge with "simple" so I keep trying. I think my favorite thing lately when working on scrapbook layouts is to use one larger photo of the occasion and then accenting that with some small photos of the same occasion. I will almost always print my photos at home with my Epson printer and I truly never thought I would be saying that! The Epson gives me the best quality and I get to pick the size for my photos. I also use Ilford's Smooth Pearl photo paper, I think that stuff is just amazing.

I used my Scor-Pal tool to create the lines that define my papers and photos. This tool makes it so easy and fast to create embossed lines and then I sanded them to emphasize them. The Scor-Pal tool has measurements and lots of lines for scoring so I just love how easy it is to know where to place your lines.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

PARK PLAY layout
Materials:
Cardstock – Vintage and Black Magic/Core’dinations
White Thickers sticker letters
Patterned papers – Road Map: Dew Drop Inn and Blue and White Motel/October Afternoon
Punch out elements – October Afternoon
Cuttlebug embossing plate
Scallop circle punch – Marvy
Corner rounder punch – Fiskars
Sandpaper
Rub-on date

BUCKET OR HAT layout
Materials:
Cardstock – Core Essentials/Core’dinations
Patterned paper – Dreamy 2/My Mind’s Eye
Foam letters – Thickers/American Crafts
Sticker letters – Making Memories
Scor-Pal tool
Sandpaper

CPS # 137 and Clear and Simple stamps

The sponsor for this coming week at Card Positioning Systems blog is Clear and Simple stamps.

The set that I was able to play with has a sports theme. It is a Football set. I am absolutely in love with the font they use on their sports set, like the word Football on my card. This theme is also so fitting for me to use since I have three young grandsons who are nuts over football.

A few details to notice are:

1. I used the tiny word block in this set and stamped it repeatedly on an orange paper to create my own patterned paper for the strip that goes down the side of my card.

2. The piece behind my football piece was embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing plate on Core'dinations cardstock.

3. I tried to create a little bit of a textured look on my football that I had colored with Copic markers. I used the Copic blender pen and touched it to the colored portions. The blender marker "takes out" color so to speak, allowing it to create designs wherever you place it.

4. The cardstock for the card base is Black Magic by Core'dinations. You can see that the reverse side of the black paper is an orange color and by sanding the edges of the card, that orange core is exposed to made the paper even better fit with the colors of my designs.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

SKETCH 137 - FOOTBALL card
Materials:
Clear stamp set – Football courtesy of Clear and Simple stamps
Cardstock – Cryogen Curious Iridescent/CutCardStock.com, Vintage and Black Magic/Core’dinations
Versafine black stamp pad
Clear embossing powder
ColorBox stamp pad - Clearsnap
Corner rounder punch – Fiskars
Copic markers
Embossing plate - Cuttlebug
Sandpaper

The JustRite Stamps Blog Hop

And there is a sale and BLOG CANDY - Check out JustRite Stamps blog for that info.

I sure hope you are ready for some serious fun because JustRite Stamps and a whole crew of stampers are going to be bringing you some "FONT" goodness using JustRite stamps and a Blog Hop. JustRite Stamps offer several styles of fonts and these also come in various sizes so today and tomorrow you are going to get a big glimpse as to just what can be done with "FONTS"!

I just love that with these teeny tiny alphabet letters you can pretty much say anything you want to. The really cool thing is that once you have the letters set up on the stamper, you can stamp this same message as many times as you need. My example is a baby announcement and you might have a whole pile of these you need to make. This is a great way to offer something very personalized. This can also be a card to welcome the new little one.

Notice how I used the Core'dinations cardstocks for the punched border and that great, embossed design.

One of the simplest ways to use alphabet letters is to create a card or set of cards adding a Monogram or Initial. This only takes one letter and you have something that is very personal and specific to the recipient.

The ornate border around the letter is also by JustRite stamps. They offer a whole lot of different borders. I did stamp mine and emboss it with silver embossing powder. The black/brown cardstock on my card is the new Jenni Bowlin Core'dinations cardstock. I only had to sand this piece to bring out that great design. That and the silver Monogram make for a rather elegant card.

Now remember there are a number of designers participating today.

Go to JustRite Stamps blog for the links to the list of the blogs you can visit today for more "FONT" goodness.

AND BLOG CANDY!

Jenny Gropp is the next person on the list or go back to JustRite Stamps blog

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

SNIPS AND SNAILS card
Materials:
Cardstock – Core Essentials/Core’dinations
Patterned paper – South Forty/Farm Fresh/October Afternoon

Alphabet letter stamps and round stamper – JustRite Stamps

Black Versafine stamp pad

Cuttlebug embossing plate

Border punch – Martha Stewart

Sandpaper

Twine

Scallop circle punch – Marvy

Corner rounder punch – Fiskars

ELEGANT MONOGRAM “B” card
Materials:
Cardstock – Black Magic and Core Essentials/Core’dinations

Watermark stamp pad – Clearsnap

Silver embossing powder

Monogram and elegant border stamp – JustRite Stamps

Self adhesive pearls – Kaiser Crafts

Scallop circle punches – Marvy and PaperShapers

Cuttlebug embossing plate

Sandpaper

Foam tape – 3M

From the Kitchen Sink!

You might know that I love working with Core'dinations cardstock. One of the things that sets this cardstock aside from other kinds is the Core. It is so much fun to try to figure out ways to show off that Core. Get ready for the unexpected with this layout.

This cutie is the adorable little girl of one of my nieces. This angelic pose just needed something special to really highlight it.

Now, take a good look. The lines in the Whitewash cardstock were created by placing the piece of cardstock over a cooling rack like what you would cool a cake layer on and sanding where the rungs are. I used a broad, fingernail file. I like the control I can get with a fingernail file. It lets me zero in on specific spots. I just kept moving the cooling rack around the outside edges of my paper to get this "line" accent all around the outside edge.

I love this My Mind's Eye paper, especially the shaped piece. I just used a portion of that piece and I used that cut edge to cut that same shape along the bottom edge of the Whitewash, sanded piece.

My little flowers are also Core'dinations cardstock. I punched them with a few different flower punches and slightly sanded them. Notice too, the Fiskars Apron Lace border punched border.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

SUGAR layout

Materials:
Cardstock – Whitewash and Core Essentials/Core’dinations
Patterned paper – My Mind’s Eye
Sticker letters - Thickers/American Crafts
Flower punches – PaperShapers
Self Adhesive pearls – Mark Richards, Inc
Cake Cooling rack
Sandpaper
Apron Lace border punch – Fiskars

Jillibean Soup paper and Jenni Bowlin Core'dinations

One of my favorite Jillibean Soup papers in the Lentil Soup collection is this great red checkerboard print. What I love about it the most is that it goes with the other papers in the collection, but when it stands alone it can work with so many different themes. SOOOOO, the Moxie Fab blog is having a big HOLIDAY themed bash this week to give a big shout out to the new Holiday Issue by Papercrafts. They are also encouraging crafters to create fun stuff for the holidays.

I thought this JOY card had a fun and funky feel with my little punched circles using the red checkerboard patterned paper, the little punched red snowflake and the button center for the snowflake.

Take a really good peek at the cardstock that I used, the red and the cream. It is by Core'dinations and it is part of the new Jenni Bowlin collection. The text is embossed in these papers and you can see how wonderfully that text shines when these papers are slightly sanded. The red is from the Vintage collection.

Here is another card using that red checkerboard print. I paired it with this wonderful "label" Jenni Bowlin Core'dinations cardstock. The label is embossed into the paper and I slightly sanded that part of the cardstock as well as the edges of the card. The little sprout is from Jillibean Soup too. Because it is a little calendar for February, I made it fit a Valentines theme.

*******

You also need to see some cute pics of our youngest grandson with that new little kitty. He loves the kitty and you can see how extremely happy and proud he is here that he actually got to pick her up. He was being very gentle and what is cool is how gentle she is towards him.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

JOY card
Designer: Linda Beeson
805 659-1282
lbpost@roadrunner.com
Materials: Cardstock – Jenni Bowlin collection/Core’dinations
Patterned paper – Jillibean Soup
Snowflake punch – Martha Stewart
Circle punch – Papershapers
Letters for JOY – David Walker epoxy letters
Sandpaper
Button

I ADORE YOU card
Designer: Linda Beeson
805 659-1282
lbpost@roadrunner.com
Materials: Cardstock – Jenni Bowlin collection/Core’dinations
Patterned paper – Jillibean Soup
Calendar Sprout and ribbon - Jillibean Soup
Rub-on words - Making Memories
Chalk ink - Powder Puff/Quick Quotes

Slam Dunk

This is one of those layouts where the supply list is very short! I accented the cardstock that is Black Magic by Core'dinations with score lines. I wanted my design to mimic the basketball hoop.

I used a Scor-Pal tool and created scored lines in the top and bottom portion of the piece of cardstock with a criss cross pattern and then sanded those scored lines. Because this is the Black Magic cardstock, the scored lines that are sanded reveal the CORE color. I picked a core color that was orange to match my photos.

The photos are arranged with the collage program in Picasa. I love using that because I can pick out my favorite photos, Picassa arranges them and then I can add a border and pick the color of the border and once I print this out and cut it, it is ready to be added to my layout.

This close up gives you a good idea of what my score lines look like.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

SLAM DUNK

Materials:
Cardstock – Black Magic/Core’dinations
Thickers sticker letters
Mini letters – Making Memories
Scor-Pal tool
Sandpaper

CPS #126 and Keep In Touch Card Kit club

The sponsor for Card Positioning Systems blog for this next week is Keep In Touch card kit club or KIT. You are going to want to keep checking the CPS blog all week long to see the supplies that each designer created with because we each received different little trinkets.

So here is the deal. The owner of the KIT club sent each of the CPS designers their own little personal envelope of unusual goodies to use to go with the CPS sketch for this week.

Mine included the tickets, a couple interesting labels, the buttons, the bingo chip and some ribbon. I didn't use every single piece that was in my envelope but I sure did my best to get most of it on this card!

An interesting little feature to take notice of on my card is the three pieces along the side of the card. The sketch has three circles. I had a rectangular label and used a circle punch to punch each corner of the label. This gave me a pie shaped piece and now I could use three of these shapes to mimic the circles on the sketch.

Remember to check the CPS blog all throughout this coming week to see the other cute embellishment pieces.

Thanks f0r visiting, Linda (lbpost)

SKETCH 126 – ALL FOR YOU card
Materials:
Embellishments (labels, tickets, buttons and bingo piece) courtesy of Keep In Touch kits
Cardstock – Vintage/Core’dinations
Patterned paper – Silly Sam/Lil’ Man collection/Cosmo Cricket
Leaf punch – Emaginations
Rub-on greeting – Making Memories
Border punch – Fiskars
Sandpaper

Adding details

First of all, did you notice my new banner? We just returned from some time in Oregon and while we were there we drove on a little tour of some covered bridges just out of Cottage Grove. Talk about photo ops!

Second, be sure to get a good peek at this amazing layout on the Core'dinations blog. It was found on the net, Core'dinations is on the lookout for good things like this!!!

Now to my card for today.

The challenge at the Hero Arts blog for this week is to create "travel" related cards using stamps and you can use or photo or not. Since I have so many great photos from trips we have taken, I pulled out a photo of one of my favorite lighthouses on the Oregon coast, the one around Bandon. I just printed it out pretty small so that I could use it as an accent on my card.

This card also shows off my very newest scrapping/stamping purchases. The cloud stamp by Hero Arts, the wave border punch by Fiskars and the scallop border stamp that comes in a set of borders, also by Hero Arts. I stamped the cloud background stamp on plain white cardstock with blue ink. Next I took a blue color of Memories Mists spray and gave it a couple spritzes. Next, I accented the cloud designs with White 3-D Fashion Paint by Tulip. This paint is actually designed for decorating fabric but I have found that it works wonderfully on paper projects and it can be just the most perfect little accent.

This close-up gives you a good peek at the wave border, the stamped border and the little accenting I did on the bottom edge of my card by making lines in the Core'dinations cardstock with a Scor-Pal tool and then sanding the paper. The Bon Voyage stamp is actually a larger rectangle then what you see here. I just punched it into a circle and inked the edges some.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

BON VOYAGE/LIGHTHOUSE card
Materials:
Cardstock –Core’dinations
Cloud background stamp, Clear border stamp, Bon Voyage stamp – Hero Arts
Versamark black stamp pad
Ancient Page stamp – Clearsnap
Circle punches
Memories Mist sprays – Stewart Superior
Brads
Wave border punch – Fiskars
Scor-Pal tool
Sandpaper
White 3-D Fashion paint – Tulip

Toy or Tool? PLUS a contest

Details of the contest at the end of this post.

Maybe you have heard that one of the wonders of Core'dinations cardstock is that you can sand it. BUT, did you get the full picture of what that means?

I am not just talking about sanding the edges to get a distressed effect. I am talking about sanding it to create patterns and designs. For that you need to take a new look around you and your house.

For this card, I used some really fun Cosmo Cricket supplies and a "tool/toy" that you maybe hadn't thought of.

In this close-up photo, do you see the "circles" on the yellow colored cardstock? That cardstock didn't come that way, I created it.

Take a peek at what my tool is here. I just picked up some building plates to go with the Duplo Legos that we have around our house. They are a perfect way to create circles on my paper. I just placed a piece of the cardstock on top of the plate with the holes on it and sanded away. The trick is to keep your paper in place so it doesn't slip around.

Want more fun ideas for creating patterns? Do you have some of your own? You sooooo need to visit Core'dinations blog to see what a few of the team members have found around their houses and you sooooo need to check out our little contest letting you do some looking and creating.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

DON’T FORGET card
Materials:
Cardstock –Core’dinations
Patterned paper – Mr. Campy/Nature Walk/Cosmo Cricket
Rub-on words and designs – Cosmo Cricket
Machine sewing
Sandpaper
Tonic Paper Distresser
Ribbon