08/27/18 - "Chunky Dunk"

Hi there...

Just sharing Layout # 127 of the year.

Remember my goal was 75?

Yeah, I succeeded and surpassed it.

I feel pretty good about that in general, and also cuz this year has been a busy, and at times, tough year... and I'm proud of myself for making a commitment to allow myself to also do something I love while trying to navigate life.

Ladies...make time for yourself!

 

Any-hooooo...

Here is today's layout.

 

"Chunky Dunk"

Journaling: "The view from my window...
He's not Skinny Dipping he's Chunky Dunking"

We have had Hamlet for a little over 3 years now and I still am in disbelief sometimes when I see him in our backyard... like "OMG we have a pig!" LOL
Most of the time though I just enjoy seeing him do his thing... it really makes me smile to see him enjoying life.
And this particular moment was no exception.
I live in Southern CA and it has been super hot, like...record HIGH HOT, so a pool is definitely a necessity for a piggy, since they don't sweat.
And here he is taking a much needed Dip, err.. I mean Dunk! Hahahahaha!

Design Details:
The BG paper is a very old piece of American Crafts surfboard patterned paper.
I'm talking old-old! I don't remember when I got it or where I got it, but it's been in my stash and I have never had a need for it.
Though in this case Hamlet is not surfing, but the color is perfect!
At the bottom are Studio Calico Documenter (AKA PL Cards) layered on top of each other.
One used for journaling, the other w/ a wave pattern to help emphasize the water theme of the layout.
Also old? the brown alphas I used to spell "dunk".
Those are Echo Park "Good Life" alphas. I have had those in my stash since... at least...2010.
The alpha sheet has hardly any letters left on it but I keep my old alphas sheets JIC, and as you can see, in this case I was able to use it.
Except for the PP behind the photo, and the Circle under "Chunky" everything else is a sticker.

Because this layout and the topic of the layout make me happy, I will also be submitting this for the current challenge over at The Studio Challenges Blog; their current challenge is "Happy".

08/23/18 - CKC August / Project #7

This is (probably) my last project w/ my August Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog Kit.
I have had such a great time w/ this kit, and the overall process of working from a Counterfeit Kit, that I am really hoping to continue to play along again in future months!
Crossing my fingers that time will allow it.

For now, let's take a look at my last August project.

Some background first:
As you know I have been tackling my first ever Project Life this year.
I have been doing my best to follow the traditional aspect of it while throwing in my own twists here and there.
For example:
- Alternating Traditional Pocket Pages w/ Digital Pages
- Using real life embellishments on Digital Pages
- Mixing-in Traditional Pages either in-between, before, or after corresponding Pocket Pages
- Alternating documenting a whole week w/ documenting one day/event

I find the flexibility allows me to continue to want to keep going w/ the project which, I admit, can sometimes be tedious...
Especially when you're behind!
(And I did get behind.)

Today I bring you yet another twist on the Project Life Page...
Though it's the 1st time I'm trying this method, I am not the one who invented it.
This page is a 12x12 Traditional Layout w/ random photos from the week:

"PL Week 26"

Despite the fact that I feel like I take a lot of photos, this particular week I really didn't.
And 1 of the photos I took wound up on another layout, which I already shared (LINK/2nd Layout), and that other page will follow this page in my PL Album.

With only 4 photos and 1 journaling block I tried to make a traditional pocket page and realized I couldn't because the back of that page would need to hold the 12x12 traditional layout referenced above; cant do back-to-back w/ 1 pocket page and 1 traditional page.
So I tried to do a digital page and I just could not get it to work because I couldn't get the 4x4 meme to fit into a frame on a page w/ out needing to choose a template that had lots of extra spaces to fill.
I tried...believe me, I did!

Finally it clicked!
Do a traditional page but include all the photos for that week and call it a Project Life Page!
It worked out so well that I will definitely be doing it again!

The only thing is, I wish I had thought of it sooner...
I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to create a page for this week;
time I will never get back... ugh... LOL

08/21/18 - CKC August / Project #6

Another layout using nothing but my August Counterfeit Kit

(as inspired by the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog).

 

A 5x8 Travelers Journal/Jot Journal Page

for my Book of Me Album

 

 

 

"Perception"

Journaling:

"In Nov 2017 I seriously considered becoming a vegetarian. By Aug 2018 I pretty much was one. (I had already given up pork for Hamlet)"


Documenting my decision to become a vegetarian.
As the owner of a Farm Animal for a pet, it's kinda hard to shield yourself from the horrors of the meat industry. Knowing all animals have feelings and knowing what happens to some of them, the ones in the meat and dairy industry, and being such a HUGE animal lover like I am I just couldn't continue to live my life knowing sweet, innocent, animals were dying so I could eat.
Maybe you don't feel the same, and I'm not here to convince you otherwise, but for me... it's something I had to do. And I do share my views in hopes that others may convert but I'm not going to judge you if it's not the way you want to live, just please don't make fun of me for doing so (yes, I have actually been teased about it...by other adults WTF?!)

I have completely given up meat and am trying really hard to limit my dairy intake... making swaps when I can, that's a bit harder... not because I don't have the drive, but it's really difficult to find dairy-type items w/out dairy in them! I gave up Cows Milk over 3 years ago, and try to eat vegan ice cream a majority of the time, but otherwise, yeah not many options for other stuff yet, at least that I can find.

Design Details:
Other than the BG paper and the tag, which I cut in 2 and placed one-half at the top of the layout and the other-half at the bottom, every embellishment on here is a sticker/self-adhesive item (even the journaling spots).
The overall layout is very simple but I love the layers and mix of colors!

I'm hoping to squeeze out at least one more project from my August Kit before the month is up
 ::crosses fingers::

08/18/18 - CKC August / Challenge #2

Hello!

Welcome to my blog post and the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog's 2nd (and Last challenge) for the month of August.
Today's challenge, to (hopefully) inspire you use up that August kit, is:

Mix and Match Journaling or Title. We have them in our stash -alphabet stickers, word stickers, stamps, dies, and even punches.  Use at least two different alphabet styles for your title or journaling.


This is actually something I do frequently because I'm always trying to stretch my alphas when they are getting to the end. Mixing them up not only gets them used, but it sometimes results in some interesting combos!

For this layout I mixed the alphas in my title:

"Real Men Wear Pink"

Journaling:

"The chicks are gonna dig him!

Stylish amirite?! Pink was $120 dollars less than blue.

(Sorry, Spotty) Good thing dogs are colorblind!

07.13.18"

For those who do not normally read my blog, here's some back-story (via a previous, not-for-this-challenge layout I created):

Journaling:
"4.12.18 - National Pet Day. Also the day we found out Spotty has Spinal Arthritis. His back legs no longer work and it's irreversible. All we can do is try our best to keep him comfortable and give him meds to help w/ his pain. It makes me sad."
Yes, it's sad that our fur-baby is going through this but we are trying our best to make him as happy as possible while he is still with us.



Back to my layout for this challenge...

I'm very happy w/ it!
Not only is everything from my Counterfeit kit, but I have used up yet another Wood Embellishment (remember I said I'm not a huge fan of wood embellishments?)!
I also like that I was able to incorporate lots of pink on the layout due to the color of my dog's wheel chair. Normally I wouldn't think to use so much pink because my dog is a boy, but the topic of this layout made it A-Okay-USA! (though technically there aren't any rules... but you know what I mean!)

I hope you'll play along!
Here's the link to the challenge again: CKC Blog - Mix and Match Challenge

08/14/18 - CKC August/Project #4

 Hi there!

Stopping by to share another layout from my August Counterfeit Kit.

This brings my project total up to 4 so far: 

- One (2 page ) Traveler's Notebook Spread

and

- Three 12x12 Layouts

 

 

"Wahlburgers & Sugar Factory"

Journaling:
"Top: lunch at Wahlburgers. I tried their new plant-based burger.
It was delish but expensive; $18 just for the burger! 07.08.18
Bottom: lunch at Sugar Factory. Drink = Coconut Banana. 07.09.18"

Also some journaling on the "July" Studio Calico Documenter Card - AKA - PL Card:
"(early) 17th wedding Anniversary -July- Vegas Trip"

As w/ the last 3 layouts, everything on here is from my counterfeit kit and I'm so happy to FINALLY have use that "&" as I've had it in my stash for a couple of years now.
It's wood and I'm not very found of wood embellishments, though I do love wood grain paper!
Speaking of...
I chose the wood grain paper for the BG because of the tan colors and "wood" in the photos of Wahlburgers. Then to help lighten up the layout and tie in the more "cute-sy" vibe of Sugar Factory I used my white and yellow flower patterned paper.
And circles, yes...circles again... what can I say, they're my thing! ::shrugs::

Another thing that is "my thing" lately is combing similar themed photos from different days on 1 layout (remember my 4th of July layout? LINK: July 4th Layout)
For me it's a way to scrap my memories w/out wasting too much space.
If I had scrapped just one of these meals on this layout I would have only used 2 photos and needed to use another page to scrap the other 2... but instead, here I've used 4 photos and left room in my scrapbook for a page about something else.
Saving space in my scrapbooking has also become "a thing" for me.

For funsies, I added a self-adhesive enamel star over the dot that was over the "j" in "july".
I've recently become somewhat of an enamel dot/shape junkie (do you also see the 4 green dots on the layout? Yup self-adhesive enamel!)

And lastly those less-than-half green circles...  they were actually that size on the scrap of paper I had in my kit, which made them THE PERFECT size. I punched them out w/ my circle punch leaving the rest of the scrap intact for future use.

Another page I just LOVE; I think I could get used to this!

08/12/18 - CKC August / Challenge #1

Hey there, hi there!
Happy Snout Sunday!
"Happy Snout Sunday?" you're asking...
Well, when you see what I'm sharing today it will make more sense...

Popping in to share the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog's current challenge to help you use your August Counterfeit Kit.

This is challenge #1 for the month and it is called:

 

Put it on an angle Use your favorite layout style and turn it a little bit to put it on an angle on your layout.

 

One of my go-to scrappy items is circles... big and small!

On this layout I used a big circle to anchor my photos of our mini-pig Hamlet enjoying his rooting rug.

And small circles to add pops of color and interest!

(We pig owners frequently use "Snout Sunday" as a hashtag on Instagram. Makes sense now, right?)

 

 

"Rooting Rug Fun"

 

Journaling: "Hamlet enjoying his Batman rooting rug. Thanks to my daughter, his momma, it's all Batman all the time for Hamlet. 09.11.17"

 

Naturally I went for Black and Yellow as my main colors, cuz... Batman!

But I quickly found I didn't have a whole lot of other Black and Yellow embellishments, DOH!

So I got creative, AKA took a chance, and added red and white (leftovers from my "Espana" Travelers Notebook spread; see previous post) and some blue and green and you know what? I absolutely LOVE the look!

I wasn't kidding when I said the Counterfeit Challenge really makes you think outside the box!

I would have never added those colors if I had my whole arsenal of scrappy supplies to choose from and yet... they really work so well on the layout!

Seriously LOVE this layout!

 

That Rooting Rug has since gone to pasture but the photos and memories will forever be captured!

 

BTW that little flag that's sticking out of the "Good Times" embellishment block was actually cut off of one of my embellishments, which means I still have the rest of it to use.

Talk about making your supplies stretch, amirite?!

And that "makes me happy" stamp is from my food stamp set... how lucky did I get, LOL!

 

Anyway, I really hope you like this layout and are inspired to play along.

In case I'm not inspiring enough, go check out the CKC Blog for more Design Team inspiration!

 

Link: Counterfeit Challenge Blog

 

TIA!

 

08/08/18 - CKC August/Projects #1 and #2

Good Morning to you!

 

Just stopping by to show off a couple of layouts I created w/ my August Counterfeit Challenge Kit.

As per the rules, everything on both is from my kit and only my kit:

 

-First up:

 

Midori Travelers Notebook

2 page spread

 

"Espana"

Journaling:
"July 1st, 2018
This is how my husband notifies me that, "Spain is winning!"

W/ a Snap Chat-Dog-Filtered-wrapped-in-a-Spain-souvenir photo.
I was born in Spain so we cheer for both the USA and Spain.

Spain did not win the World Cup"

My husband sent me this silly photo and I knew I just had to scrap it for the "Fly Your Flag" challenge at Scrapbook.com...
Basically it's a challenge for showing off your National Pride.
I very rarely have a reason to scrap Spain so I enjoyed this.
Funny thing... 2 years ago we went to Spain and I have like a bazillion photos...but only like 2 of them are scrapped, LOL (Because there are a bazillion of them!)

Design Details:
I used 2 PL Cards on this:
1. As a journaling spot
The 2nd I punched 1 circle and a couple of half-circles out of and used them as embellishments (the Yellow Patterned circles)
The PL cards are super old, part of the Becky Higgins "Kraft" Project Life Kit.

.
.


2nd Layout
12x12 Traditional
W/ Non-traditional Colors for the theme: Fourth of July

Heads up my scanner is (always) dirty so the "ink" smudges you may see here and there on this layout are not intentional, LOL
Seriously IDK what's up w/ my scanner!

"The 4th, 2018"

Journaling
TOP:
"This was the first 4th we didn't see fireworks. David had to be at work at 3AM so he went to bed early and Madi and I didn't want to watch the neighborhood fireworks w/out him"

MIDDLE:
"06.30.18 - Early 4th w/ the neighbors. David made chocolate brownies and lemon cupcakes w/ strawberry frosting."

BOTTOM:
(Menu)
"-Corn on the Cob                   -Steak
-Salmon & Veggie Kabobs        -Meatless Burgers
July 4th, 2018"

 

Finished off my Pink Enamel Dots on this - a bittersweet moment for me.

Also the polka dot PP is from an old SMASH book; remember those?!

  
I'm so happy that CKC asked me to Guest Design because I forgot just how much fun it is to create layouts w/ only a "handful" of supplies! Especially when some of the supplies are ancient... forces you to finally use them!

As a reminder of how it all works:

Here is the link to my kit: Doreena's Aug Counterfeit Kit

and the link to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog: CKC Blog

 

I would love if you played along!

08/04/18 -"Music" Inspired Layouts

Just sharing a couple of layouts I recently created which are, coincidentally, music inspired.

 

 

12x12

Traditional Layout

 

"Rock Star/RIP"

 

 

Journaling: "I've been binging on Linkin Park for the past week.

"In the End" is my favorite song of theirs. 07.26.18"

 

 

I am a huge Linkin Park fan so I was very saddened by the death of front man Chester Bennington.

July 20th, 2018 was the 1 year anniversary of his death so I created a tribute layout to him.

Photo on the left is a screenshot of an IG post someone else posted on the day of his death.

Right is a screenshot of a song that I was listening to on July 26th... one of the days out of the week during which I was listening to Linkin Park on repeat.

Everything on here is a stash item, 1 year or older...except for the BG paper.
The gold "xoxoxo " is a 4x4 frame/transparent overlay.


.
.
.

12x12
Traditional Layout

w/ interactive element
I attached the show's 2 sided brochure w/ washi tape so it can be flipped to read the back

 

"BAZ"

Journaling:
"David took a phot of the entire cast free-dancing at the end of the show"

We weren't allowed to take photos during the show but I'm so glad David took this one.
It's fun and captures the cast and stage!

I also included the tickets and the front of the ticket holder that also explains a bit about the show (I added enamel dots and stars in matching colors to spice it up a bit).

 

Here's the backside of the brochure

 

 

Back story: on July 8th we saw the musical Vegas Show "BAZ"

- we went to Vegas for our 17th Wedding Anniversary
Vegas is a tradition because we got married in Vegas.

The show was amazing BTW!
If you like love stories and musicals you need to see this!

 

That's all for me today!

 

Hope all is well...

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

08/01/18 - Counterfeit Challenge Blog Guest Designer

Happy August to you my friends!

I have been asked to be a guest over at the "The Counterfeit Kit" Bog this month, YAY!

If you recall I started playing along for the first time w/ them this year.
I really enjoyed it but then I just seemed to always get so busy that I didn't have time to create a kit to work off of each month so that new-to-me adventure had to fall by the wayside.

When they asked me to guest I took it as a sign I needed to get back to it...
so of course I said "YES!"


The kit that is being presented as inspiration is the Cocoa Daisy August Kit.

As with most Kit Clubs, Cocoa Daisy offers a few different kits each month so and I used a little bit of something from the Main Kit and the Pocket Kit.

Main Kit Full

Main Kit Papers

Pocket Kit Full

As always is the process for me when creating my kit, I made a list of what stood out to me:

-Colors:
Green
Yellow
Red
Pink

-Patterns:
Wood Grain
Honeycomb/Hexagons
Flowers
Circles
Words (subtle in the pink paper, 2nd photo, bottom row)
Solid Cardstock (solid is a pattern, right?! LOL)

-Alphas:
Black
Orange
Gray

-Embellishments:
Acrylic Words
"July"
Summer
Words
Acrylic Stamps
Tags (either actual or as a pattern)
Polka Dot Ribbon

-Random Extras I know I'll need/want:
Sharpie for doodling and journaling
Self adhesive file labels for journaling
White Gel pen for doodling


Here is my kit which I call "Summer Vibes"..


-12x12 Patterned Papers (10 total)

 

-Solid Cardstock, Smaller Patterned Papers, Alphas:

 

-Embellishments

-"Freebies"

 

This photo is of the ribbon I forgot to include in the embellishment photo - doh!

 

I hope that you can see what I chose from the inspiration and also how it fits the list I presented.
I think the papers are pretty obvious, as are the polka dot ribbon, the acrylic words, the tags, and some of the project life cards..
But the some of the other stuff I had to get creative w/; for example:
-I don't have hexagon stamps so I chose a stamp set that at least included "shapes",
-The large set of different alphas (that includes other stickers as well) was chosen because
1) wood grain *alphas*
2) flowers *border*
3) Summer colors
Speaking of colors... I realize mine is brighter than the inspiration but I don't have papers/embellishments in those muted shades...my taste just doesn't gravitate towards it.

I included 2 punches: a hexagon and circle
and 1 large circle template because I frequently use circles in my scrapbook layouts

Finally there are a few things that have nothing to do w/ the kit, but I KNOW I will probably need them and what's the use of buying/creating a kit that doesn't allow you to scrap what you love amirite?!
So as a freebie to myself I added 1 sheet each of Cat, Dog, and Pig Stickers because I'm always scrapping my fur-babies (plus a few extra alphas might come in handy muahahaha)!  And the food stamps and stickers because I'm always scrapping food (though I think the fact that there are photos of tea and coffee in the inspiration pocket kit will allow me to slide a little! Yes?! LOL)

In the end though the challenge is not about copying the inspiration exactly but allowing it to inspire your own kit, made from your own stash, that you will be motivated to use...
And from experience I know that even w/ a large* kit, there is still something(s) that I will have forgotten to include which means thinking outta the box; another part of the fun of this challenge!
(*the term "large" is relative... I mean this is tiny compared to my complete Scrapbooking stash with which I could totally open my own scrap store with, tee-hee!)

I hope you feel inspired to play along!
If I'm not enough inspiration for you, check out the rest of the ladies' kits.
The list of their blogs is below.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog -  http://counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.com/

 

Guest Designer – Doreen Vasquez - https://madijoes.blogspot.com/

Cindy - https://cindyscreations-cinmfoster.blogspot.com/

Julene - https://julenebydesign.blogspot.com/

Leslie - https://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com/

Lisa - https://lisahausmann.blogspot.com/

Tina - https://tinasscrapcorner.blogspot.com/

Laura - https://www.instagram.com/mrsp_scrapsandtea/

TYFSB!