Eye Candy-SWAK

Although we were primarily there to cheer on our swimmer, we used the time between preliminary and final meet sessions to explore the city of San Antonio. One of our endeavors was to find and photograph some of the incredible murals around town. The "Lips" mural was one of my favorites!

I used the fabulous Love Notes collection from Doodlebug Design to recreate an envelope, and rose to the Paper Issues Eye Candy Challenge with the addition of Nuvo drops and enamel dots. 

I knew those stamp-edge scissors would come in handy one day! 

As would the cancellation mark stencil!

If you're ever in San Antonio, be sure to check out the mural installation at 51 Essex Street!

Yesterday's Scraplift Sunday-Today

Yesterday was another Scraplift Sunday over at Paper Issues, and I played along. I scrapped an early morning photo snapped at the airport, as we were preparing to fly home from a trip to San Antonio late last year.

First I used a stencil to trace and cut a background reminiscent of the sun rays in my picture, layering it over another patterned paper.

Then I laid a horizontal strip from which to hang my colorful banner pieces of all shapes, sizes and patterns...the real fun part of this page!

As you can see, I drew inspiration from both the photo and the banners 

on Chelsea's gorgeous original:

Journaling was kept simple. 

Short and sweet, it uses only half of a journaling card tucked in behind the photo.

I LOVE banners! They are such an easy and fun way to embellish a page:

This is one of my favorite collections. Simple Stories, Oh Happy Day has the cutest diecuts, gorgeous papers, chipboard, and washi tape AND it can still be found in the Paper Issues store!

For this and every other scrapbooking supply on your list, check out the store, an use my code to get 20% off of your entire order. 

Noel-Snow White Challenge

[Posted to Paper Issues Blog 1/21/20]

Good morning! It's Madeline here today sharing a layout I created for this month's Snow White challenge. No snow here, and I haven't been to Disney in years, but I DO have white cardstock! ;)

First I spritzed my white background with gold mist, then I added Paper Issue's free Winter Berry Wreath cut file and topped it with die cuts from Pink Paislee's Together for Christmas collection.

 Before tucking in my matted photo, I "painted" the white wreath with Nuvo Glitter Drops. 

After the glitter dried, I dry brushed a little white paint over the berries to tone them down a bit.

Finally I tucked in strands of white tinsel behind the die cuts and added a smattering of gold stars. 

I wish I could show you how much this page sparkles! 

 I hope you're inspired to play along with us and post your page for a change to win a GC to the Paper Issues Store. Find this and ALL of the January Challenges in our Facebook Group.

Save 20% when you shop by using my code:

Vintage Scraplift Challenge

For me, the best part of Paper Issues' Vintage Scraplift challenge was the impetus to look through my old blog posts and galleries. That's a lot of layouts, as I've been scrapbooking for almost 19 years! 

The page I chose to lift was a favorite travel page about beautiful Corsica. How about those tags on the Corsica page? I stamped with paint...mixed media circa 2004!

My new page keeps to a similar color scheme of yellow and pink, but has a more fun feel, with a lighter, brighter background. 

Another difference is the position of those tags, now on the top half of the page.

Adding just one photo also left me plenty of room for a cluster of embellishments and my title.

Have you ever looked back at your first scrapbook pages? :)

Scraplift Sunday 1/5

While I still had all my Christmas papers and doo-dads scattered about my desk, I decided to scrap one of my favorite photos from Christmas Day. 

The inspiration for my page was MJ's original, our Scraplift Sunday for January 5th. 

I had already scrapped two pages with Pink Paislee's Together for Christmas collection, and wanted to change it up a bit. Since I had converted the picture to black and white, I had a lot of freedom in choosing a color scheme. 

As you can see I went a bit non-traditional!

The papers and envelopes on my page were older ones from my stash: Bella Blvd., Fancy Pants, Echo Park, and others. 

Using older stuff helps to make room for new, right? ;)

And speaking of new, new collections are starting to show up in the Paper Issues Store. 

When you shop, remember to use my code for 20% off everything!

52 Favorites-Weeks #1, #2, and #3

Paper Issues’ 52 Favorites challenge was something I’ve wanted to do for a while. It's a quick way to document those somewhat random moments in your week that might not make it onto a regular scrapbook page. Wanting something a little larger than a travelers notebook, I decided to make my own pages by cutting a pack of 81/2 x 11 cardstock in half. Then I used a Bind-It-All to punch holes. When the year is done, I'll gather up all the pages and add O-rings. Sometime between now and then, I might even make a cover! ;)

Week #1

Highlights in this first week of 2020 include struggling to put together a beautiful but difficult puzzle, making chocolate chip pancakes for Kevin and I, and finally having time to enjoy my Christmas gifts!

Two patterned paper scraps, washi tape, and colorful letter stickers were all I needed to pull this spread together. One week down, 51 to go!

Week #2

This week was defined by school resuming for Kevin and the start of my 7-on. My photos highlight the textbooks that began to dribble in from Amazon and the big breakfast I cooked on my last day of leisure. 

Circular scraps from an earlier project are used on the left, while paper cut outs from an older Bella Blvd. collection show up on the right. 

Week #3 

Most Sundays Tommy cooks for a dozen people give or take. This Sunday his stack of mini muffalettas looked so cute piled up on the plate. I wasn't fast enough however, as the stack was down to one layer by the time I pulled out my phone. LOL! 

I used a few more scrap pieces from Bella Blvd's Alex collection to dress up these pages. The hamburger die cut was perfect, as were the actual muffulettas! YUM!

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How about that?! Three weeks down and I'm keeping up, having fun working with this new-to-me format. Check out all of the inspiration in Paper Issue's 52 Friday Favorites challenge album. It's never too late to start!

Scraplift Sunday

[Posted on the Paper Issues bog 1/12/20]

Yay for today...it's Scraplift Sunday! 

I wasn't much for scraplifting...until I began working 10 hour nights, a week on, a week off. Those "on" weeks were killer. I had no energy and little time for scrapbooking, but wanted to do something! Enter Paper Issues' Scraplift Sunday challenges. Boy were they perfect, a great jump-start for my drained brain. 

Here is my Scraplift Sunday page for today:

This amazing layout from Mary-Ann was my inspiration:

I LOVE how she incorporated all those papers and die-cuts from November's Swag Bag, grouping everything at the bottom of the page. The woodgrain background gives it white space without white! 

MY page uses papers and embellishments from Pink Paislee's Together for Christmas collection. I sorted through all the gorgeous die-cuts, and patterned papers in classic Christmas colors, then assembled a base for my photo:

Staying true to the original orientation, I placed it all on a background of gold dots on white, then started tucking in die-cuts and fussy cut flowers wherever I could. 

And there you have it. Who can argue with letting someone else do the design work, when all you have to do is pick out papers, photos, embellies, and assemble? 

If you play along, be sure to post your page on PIFF FB page for a chance in PI's monthly drawings, and on Instagram tag @PaperIssues and #ScrapliftSunday so we can oooh and aaah.

Can't wait to see what YOU create!

Use the code, MADELINE, in the Paper Issues store for 20% Off of your order.