Mini-Album Summer Vacation {SWAT Drill #38}

Here's my last creation for SWAT.  Life is happening really fast here at the Johnson household and I've decided to step back from my responsibilities as a Design Team member.  

This challenge was to create something with the theme of "Summer Vacation" - I created this mini album of our summer and this is one of my favorite pages.  The mini is somewhat of a smash album.  I journaled every day in this album and then filled in the photos and a few embellishments along the way.

Be sure to link up your summer vacation creation at SWAT and have a great day!

Mini-Album Camping {SWAT #36 Mood Board}

Good morning - SWAT's Mood Board challenge is up and running.  If you are like me, the words "Mood Board" threw me a bit - in that I really didn't know what a mood board was, but I soon discovered that it is an inspirational starting point.

This is what we were asked to use as a mood board titled "Home of the Brave":

We go tent camping each year for a portion of our family vacation.  Idyllwild, CA has some of the best camping spots and wonderful campground hosts.  This is what I created:

I incorporated the colors and sunset from the board as well as the outdoors theme.  I loved the word "BRAVE" that was in the board, and I really considered how this fits in with our family and vacations.  We've had to brave the elements (heat, rain, mosquitos), brave the trails (1.5 miles, then 3.3 miles and finally 6.5 miles - going from 6,000 feet in elevation to 7,000 - that was a strenuous challenge), and brave new places to go as a family.  We had not been to Solvang, CA and that was a cute little town - with an amazing crafting/make and take shop!

Don't forget to link up with us at SWAT and have a scrappy happy day!

Long Jump {SWAT Drill #34 Happy Feet}

Our latest Drill at SWAT is:  “Happy Feet”.  The rules are simple just create a Layout featuring happy feet! With or without shoes :)

My daughter was in track and field this school year and she did an amazing job improving her running times and her distance in the long jump.  She’s a petite girl but she can RUN and she can JUMP.  You will notice that I have chipboard letters from Creative Embellishments.  They even do custom orders!

Be sure to stop by SWAT and share your happy feet with us!

This month we Have an amazing sponsor!  One lucky winner will win a $20 Gift Card to shop at......

Make sure you hop on over for tons of amazing inspiration challenges and lots of fabulous products!! 

Make sure you let them know who sent you :)

Have a scrappy-happy day - as we welcome the first official day of summer ... (sing it like Olaf from "Frozen").

A Selfie or Two {SWAT Drill #33}

Today's challenge at S.W.A.T. is to create a layout or other wonderful artwork that uses a "Selfie" picture.

I really do not like to take my picture or to have anyone else take my picture so that is one of those projects that I've been thinking about and procrastinating.  Finally, I settled on the fact that I really do need to create a page about myself and I'm going to add a bit to it - personalize it with some of my thoughts about myself - but that's for my eyes and written on a pull out tag:

Here are a few fun facts that I would love to share with you:
1.  I have not watched television at all in 12 1/2 years - yes, we own a TV but we only watch movies occasionally that are checked out from the public library.
2.  I really like my glasses.  I've worn contacts before - but I really like the way that glasses frame my face.
3.  I do not color my hair.  What you see is what you get.  Proverbs 16:31 - look it up and you will see another reason why I don't color my hair.
4.  I love vintage "stuff" - we have two working rotary dial phones in our house.  I love how they sound when ringing.
5.  There are lots of things that I wish were different about my looks - but I have to be content with who I am.  I have a husband who enjoys watching me when I stir the gravy.  My kids know that they are to blame for the shape my body has taken since their births.
6.  I am a wife, mother, teacher, and a friend to many.
7.  I love to volunteer my time, talents, and energy for others.
8.  I still sew and make things from scratch.
9.  I love my family more than anything in this world.
10.  I love My Savior more than anything in all of life.

Have a great day and I really do hope that you are inspired to create a layout that focuses on you.

Drill # 31: Color Challenge {SWAT}

Good Morning!!  SWAT is having another challenge - and this time its a color challenge.  Here's the color palette:

Here's what I did with it!

I really loved how this layout turned out - the color combination is just too fun and really fits the photos of the family and exhibit we saw at the Desert Botanical Garden.  I was fortunate enough to have my mom visit us for Easter and she loves the garden.  The "balloons" are actually hand blown glass by Chihuly.  He's an amazing artist and this is the second time I've seen his work at the garden.

Love Themed Projects {SWAT Drill #26}

Thanks for stopping by today, Love is still in the air!  At SWAT, we have several very cute projects to share with you as we continue to celebrate love.  The things that we love, the people we love and the memories we love to cherish and share so artistically.

This is what I love the most - time with my husband on the beach.  Even the photo looks like we're in the spray of the waves - well - that's because a little distressing makes things look so cool!

I hope that you've had a great few weeks with your families and make many loving memories!

Deborah

Side Out {S.W.A.T #24}

Happy Saturday!  At SWAT, we have a great new challenge for you - use the sketch provided from Page Maps and add buttons.  Be sure to link up your take the on the challenge ... here’s what I did with the sketch:

Materials used:  Adrianne Looman's "Plum Seed" from Webster's Pages

Hey There, Santa! {S.W.A.T.}

Saturday, December 21

Winter Solstice 2013
Today is Winter Solstice and we've got a great sketch from Page Maps for you to tackle at SWAT.  Santa needs to be somewhere on this layout; either a picture - embellie - or paper.  I was browsing through photos from a few years ago after we finished decorating the house and realized that I had duplicates of visits with Santa.  Gold-mine!  I have all of the kids photos displayed from birth to present - totally fun to see how they change over time.  Santa is the same - he's been the same ever since they were 2 and 4 - best part - Santa remembers the kids!!!  (Well of course he does!)

Anyway - here's your sketch to work with:

Here's what I created with MME's All is Bright.

Merry Christmas!

Deborah

50 Foot Drop {S.W.A.T.}

Happy Saturday!  This morning I'm helping out my son's marching band as a ticket taker.  Gotta love early mornings!!  The band is ranked #2 in the State of Arizona as we head into the State Marching Band Championships.  Wishing them the best performance ever!

Over at S.W.A.T., we are featuring a sketch from Page Maps and encourage you to use it as a stepping stone for your layout.  AND - how about adding some feathers to the layout?  I have never used feathers on a layout before and really fell in love with this challenge.  I did spray some glittering mist on the feathers and I think they really look sparkly!

Here's the sketch:

Here's my layout:

I used inspiration from a couple of my crafty gal pals.  Kristy at Kiwi Lane Designs does a feature called "Write from the Heart".  I get intimidated with journal writing and I began to journal on the back with a personal note to my daughter.  Kristy, you would be proud - I put the journal entry on the front for all to see.

I was also inspired by Doris and Nicolle at Creative Embellishments - they are the masters at layers and those chippies!!

Materials used:  Authentique's Thankful collection, Creative Embellishments chippies, twine and feathers, Glimmer Mists

Hump Day {SWAT - Altered Art Thanksgiving}

Guess what day it is ....

That's right 

** HUMP DAY **

and here at SWAT, we like to showcase a project in the middle of the week to get you over the hump and crafting like crazy until the next project/challenge is posted.

I made this after seeing a friend’s post last year.  She showcased her Thanks Giving blocks and Jingle All The Way blocks and I knew that this was a project that would be downright fun to create along with some variations.  I did "Thanks Giving" on one side of the blocks and "Jingle All The Way" - but then I also created another two sets for my sister’s family and for my brother’s family.

I used "FAMILY" for the opposite side of "THANKS" and then instead of "Giving" - I put their last names.

Here's a photo of the work in progress:

Now, I don't own any fancy lettering machines, die cuts or anything of that sort ... I did hand lettering!  Yup.  You can do it too!

I love these blocks and I keep thinking that I should have my honey cut more wood blocks so that I can make more sets for our close friends.

Have a Happy HUMP DAAAY!

Deborah

Gobble Till You Wobble {S.W.A.T.}

Drill #19:  Gobble Till You Wobble

use a recipe card and / or a picture of food on your layout

Drill #18 S.W.A.T. {Family Together Time}

S.W.A.T Drill #18 - Sketch with Wood Embellishments

I really had a great time with this sketch!  A bit of spritzing, some sewing, and a large handful of circles in all sizes.  Even when photos don't come out perfect, they are still worthy of being scrapped.  This is one of those photos - I didn't care for the deep shadows toward the bottom of the photo - but it still works and I love the memories I have from this year's vacation.

Here's the sketch:

Here's the layout:

Have a scrap-happy day!

Deborah

First Dance {Drill #17}

Today's Drill #17 at S.W.AT. is to do a bit of "fussy" cutting.  Fussy cutting is where you hand-cut around typically an intricate design.  I did several pieces of fussy cutting on this layout:  purple stamped image on gray card stock, clock and flowers (Webster's Pages), and view master slides (Echo Park Note To Self).  I was inspired by a sketch from Sketchabilities.

I find fussy cutting to be a bit theraputic and enjoy working on these types of projects - I also love the slightly messy look of the background with my very clean cut son in the photo.

To sweeten things up a bit we have a new sponsor for this Drill:

Creative Embellishments is a new family owned company that was created by Michael and Nicolle Kramer. We are a husband and wife team who design and manufacture unique, high quality chipboard and wood products. It is our mission is to offer fun and inspiring products to bring out your inner creativity that you can add to any project. In the near future we will be expanding into other mediums such as rubber/acrylic stamps and acrylic embellishments. Please stop over to the Creative Embellishments store and have a look around.

Store - http://creativeembellishments.com/

Blog - http://creativeembellishments.com/blog

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CreativeEmbellishment

This is what they are giving away as a prize:

Please share your creations with us at S.W.A.T. - have a scrap-happy day!

Deborah

Drill #16 - S.W.A.T {Sketch and Twin}

Good Morning!

Check out this sketch from S.W.A.T - The ever-talented Bev Code created this sketch for us to use and while I moved the circle and title around a bit, I love the way everything came together.  For this Drill, you will need to use the sketch provided and use a bit of twine.  I used bakery twine on my three banner flags.  Be sure to check out our blog to see what the rest of the Design Team came up with for additional inspiration.

This is how I saw the sketch working for me:

Materials Used:  My Mind's Eye, Musical Thickers, Twine, Flair (made by a friend), Mr. Huey's Mists, Flowers

Have a scrap-happy day!

Deborah

Tucker {S.W.A.T. Drill #15: Stamp, Stitch, Spray}

This is our family dog, Tucker.  We adopted him from a rescue shelter when he was "8 months to two years" old - according to the staff there.  More like 8 months thank you very much!  He's been an amazing addition to our family - he's small enough for both of the kids to walk him yet fierce enough to protect our home from those nasty free-range cats in our neighborhood.

Tucker is a true terrier (we think of his breed as more terror than terrier) because he learns quickly, he loves to play, and he's a crafter.  Yes, I have a dog who can craft.  He will take a roll of toilet paper and do the most amazing crafts with it - all over the house - so bonus! - interior decorator is added to his list of accomplishments.

Drill #15 at S.W.A.T. is to create a card, layout or other project where you Stamp, Stitch (either faux, machine or hand) and use Spray Mists.  I did just that!  I stamped the paw prints all over the layout, hand-stitched through his name to anchor those letters and then I used spray mists to create the blue droplets throughout.  I also added a smear of gesso to help those paw prints and to make it a bit messy - noticed the paper that he did chew up for me while working on this layout?

One last thing - look closely at the photo - there's a sign behind him that says "Stay for the Fun" - this is true!  He's fun and silly and I'm glad that he's ours.

Have a scrappy happy day and don't forget to link up your projects to S.W.A.T. so that we can drool (ahem) all over your creations!

This is Life {S.W.A.T. Drill #14}

Today’s S.W.A.T Drill #14 is to use stickers and NOT Thickers - that would be too easy - AND to use our sketch.  Use stickers on a layout or card and then post them to the S.W.A.T website - share your memories and those crazy stickers that are just sitting there not being used.

This is Life!  No matter what is going on in our lives - family is the so very important and they are what makes our life so great.  We had a memorable time hiking in the Big Basin Redwoods - it was a 12-mile hike and took us 6 hours.  To say we were exhausted is an understatement but we persevered and had ice cream as a reward when we were finished.

I used Simple Stories Life Documented.  The sticker sheet that comes with this kit is fantastic and really helps to accent the photos.  I did turn the sketch on its side so that it worked better for the photos I wanted to work with.

The sketch:

Contemplating the Beach {Drill #13: Trendy Triangles}

While on vacation this year, my sweet husband took several photos of the kids as they roamed the beach.  It was a tad chilly when we started our adventure, but then the sun came out and we were amazed at all we could see in Monterey, CA.

I adore photos of the kids when they don’t even know we’re taking photos - my son looks like he’s really contemplating the ocean and its hidden treasures possibly even mapping out his day of discovery.

Using triangles on layouts helps to highlight or point the way to a focal point on your layout and I’ve added a bit of machine stitching to the triangles - I think it gives them an “arrow” look.

Be sure to upload your layouts, cards or other projects to S.W.A.T’s Drill #13 - Trendy Triangles.

Materials:  Simple Stories 24/Seven and Mr. Huey's Mists

Sketch is from:  Me!

Best Day Ever {Drill #12: Use Only Patterned Papers}

Welcome back to S.W.A.T. where we are having a sketch challenge for you today.  While I was waiting for my son to finish his music lessons, I stopped in at a local coffee shop and pulled out my Simple Stories 24/Seven collection and just went to work on this layout.  I also used my mists for this layout with a few drops splashed here and then and then I drew the circle.  This is a new technique for me and I found it to be very easy!  Just take the dropper out of the misting bottle and then draw with it like its a quill pen.  This technique gives you a messy, grunge look and I just love it!

Don't forget to link up your project so we can drool all over your interpretation of this sketch plus you can win a prize from our sponsor Boys Rule a $15 gift card. 

Have a happy scrappy day!