Crashing My Stash - a Challenge Page!

There are challenges on various website and FB pages and sometimes it's a good thing to play along to get you to try something new, to use some of your stash, to get over a scrapper's block.

But sometimes, it's just plain old fun.  On one of my favorite FB pages, Mercy Tiara's 27 day challenge page, another gal added yet another challenge by way of a tic tac toe board, and you needed to choose a line and go for it.

I chose the line which included the use of vellum, two photos, and stencils.  After looking about at the material I had at hand (items that were already out and right at hand--I've always said I am at heart a lazy scrapper!), it turned out I was following the same line that our fearless leader, Tracy used, although I didn't set out to use the same one...  honest, I didn't!

The  background paper was one that I had stenciled quite some time ago for a different page and then never used; it was laying on the floor!  The vellum scraps were laying out, left from a page I put together a week or so ago!  And these two photos didn't seem to fit on any other paper that was within easy reach!  So, that's how this decision was made.  Nothing but pure laziness! 

The stencil pattern had been applied using two different stencils and a couple of different colors of chalk inks.  I trimmed it down some to to clean up the edges and then sewed the two pieces of vellum into place and continued sewing around the perimeter of the page.

I did the gold splatters next, since I wanted those to dry before anything else went onto the page (I've smeared gold paint or ink on too many occasions---not today!).


While the gold ink was drying I went to work layering paper scraps, tags, and journaling cards under the photos.  Once I placed my photo block in place, I could see where to add in extra pieces of paper to fill it out and also tucked in a couple of stickers from my stash. 

Next was to create a line or base for my title to sit on, so out came some washi tape, one of which I repeated in two other areas. 

  
The other additions to the page were some Raindots.  Remember those---they came out way before enamel dots came into play...and yes I still had a few...had being the operative word.  They're gone now!!!  Ya-hoo!

It makes me ridiculously happy to fulfill a challenge, use up some stash, as well as a piece of paper I had previously stenciled and not used, and get rid of old product (er, I mean use it up!).

Try a challenge to get you moving, use up some stash, finish off partial packs of older product...   See if this doesn't make you ridiculously happy!

in other words, crash your stash!

Cheryl 

Crash Your Stash - Be Brave, Use an Entire Sheet of a Favorite Pattern!!!

There will be more soon on choosing a kit club; I just received my September kit from Scrapbook Circle (yeah!), but we were getting ready to depart for Wisconsin to visit kids and grandkids (double yeah!!), so I won't be working with the kit till we get back (sigh).

In between the arrival of kits, I've been working out of my stash.  Crashing my stash, as I am calling it these days.  Today's stash crash is about using a full sheet of a beloved pattern!

 Yikes using up a whole sheet of something I really like?  Kind of scary.  In the old days, I would hoard it, or only use it in pieces to try and make it last longer.  Now though, I know there will be more papers that I will love, more designs that will work equally well, and using this entire piece of paper will not prohibit me from making other pages that I will be happy with.  And, using that entire piece will keep it out of the scrap pile!

Not adding to your scrap pile is equally important to decreasing your stash!

The paper is a really pretty pastel city map, collage type print.  I love it.  But think about it, how many city-scape photos do I have? Not too many.  How many city scenes are going to go well with a pastel type interpretation?  Um, again, not many.  But I had this one photo (grandson's photo from his Australia/New Zealand/Hawaii trip) and this one photo really looked nice with the paper.

But the paper, even though it is pastel and soft in feeling, still seemed a bit too much all on its' own.  I thought about cutting it and only using a third or two thirds of it.  But that seemed only to harden the edges.  Then I laid a piece of vellum over about a third of the page.  BINGO! 

I did trim the edges of the print and used another piece of antique-y aqua (an old Basic Grey solid) under the print to provide a border. 

From there it was a matter of choosing layering papers (another piece of the aqua, as well as an antiqued pale green piece and more of the pink printed vellum), an alpha that would not over power the softer colors or seem to hard or harsh, and a couple few embellishment pieces (pre-stitched pastel printed pieces from Maggie Holmes I think ---Close Knit was the collection, and several pieces of printed vellum tape--a leftover from a kit.

You might notice that there is no journaling on several of these travel pages.  They are for my grandson, and I will have to "interview" him a bit to get some words of his to use on the page!

Woot, woot!  Another dent in the stash!  Another completed page! 

moving on,
Cheryl 

Sweater Weather Layout #7 - NASA?

Wow, seven layouts from one kit!  I was not expecting this!  I am way happy with how far this kit has stretched. 

This page is a bit of a departure from cozy winter or holiday layouts, which is what you really think of first with a kit called Sweater Weather.  I really loved the Scraptastic exclusive red, white and blue diagonal stripe that was in the kit, so after some digging around, I found these old, old, old photos of our Jacob man on a rocket-ship ride at a shopping mall play-park.  Ah-ha!  Seems like a good fit for some  red, white and blue! 

From my stash on this one, just the starry vellum, and some cardstock.   I cut (Cricut) the title letters from red cardstock and the stars were cut from white cardstock with a Sizzix die (Primitive Stars). 

After I tore the corner of the vellum for some interest, I placed a large strip of the striped paper down on the right side of the page.  Then I tucked smaller strips of blue and red patterned papers under the photos and cut a few banners, as well as fussy cut a few little stars from the navy and wood grain star paper.  The last thing added to the layout were the larger white die cut stars.  Still not too sure about those stars; sometimes I look at the page and it seems far too busy and then again it will look ok.  Do you have those pages too? 

Journaling on the layout asks the question; will there even be NASA in the future?  I think it is just a shame that one of the U.S.' biggest achievements (our space program) has been decimated by our (stupid) politicians (both Democrat and Republican--I hold both parties these days in equal disgust-- some of the stuff they choose to spend our money on just boggles the mind).  This journaling is on the back of the layout.  I don't think it hurts to let folks in the future know your views on current events or politics.  It let's people know you better---but I also do not necessarily want this info taking over the page or the photos.

have a scrappy-dappie-dooo day! 
(can you tell the little grandies have been here---watching Scooby-Doo!) 
best,
Cheryl

Sweater Weather Layout #4 - Found!

Oh my goodness, I so love the woodblock print from Kaisercraft that was included in this kit!  And I knew as soon as I saw it what photo I was going to use with it. 

You see, we have done a whole lotta cleaning out around here what with readying the house for showings and getting ready for our move.  After 25 years in one house, you tend to lose sight of just how much stuff you have acquired (ahem...stashed, hoarded, forgotten about....)  And then sometimes, you are greeted with a surprise. 

One day husband of mine called me to the garage door and wanted to know if I was going to get rid of this sewing machine... to which I replied, I already got rid of my old sewing machine.  He then inquired, well then what's this?  I took one look at the case and told him, I've never seen this before! 
Apparently the machine has been up in the rafters in our garage ever since we bought the house 25 years ago.  I think it's a keeper---heavy as all get out though.  Man is this sucker heavy!  But it's so neat looking and there is this really cool brass plate on the front that says Made in West Germany.  Now I don't really know anything about old sewing machines...but I know what I like and I really do like the looks of this old machine.   

I started with a piece of black cardstock and placed about a 4-inch wide slice of the wood block print paper, added a teeny little strip of the My Mind's Eye woodgrain and then trimmed one of the border stickers into a skinnier strip to define the left side of the page.  I also used a piece of the vellum that came in the kit (from Webster's Pages, their Hall Pass collection) to layer the photo on top of.  Popped the photo up, but also added some old fashioned black photo corners and a couple of photo turns (from my stash--7 Gypsies) in keeping with the vintage vibe thing I was aiming for.  I originally thought I would use the darker woodgrain alpha from the kit for the title and was going to place it in the open block of vellum (where I now have my journaling), but the alpha was just too small and not quite bold enough.  I opted for a black foam Thickers alpha for the title and placed it on the right side, journaling then went on the left side.  Also from my stash are the several torn strips of black diagonal striped washi tape and the tab at the top of the photo.   A little outlining on the black cardstock with a white pen and I figured I better quit while I was ahead. 

(I just noticed that that one of the photo corners is coming undone....love the look of the old fashioned photo corners, but they can be real buggers to work with!   A new one with a little dab of glue has this situation remedied!) 

Layout # 4 and still counting!
Cheryl