Very Mary

Watermelon (a layout)

I got lazy with my typing last time, but I still had one more layout to share (more details and links to supplies here):

©Two Peas in a Bucket

Supplies:

• American Crafts cardstock
• Basic Grey Lemon Meringue Pie patterned paper
• Basic Grey Rolling Pin patterned paper
• Basic Grey Pear Tart patterned paper
• Basic Grey Nook & Pantry Chip Shapes
• Basic Grey Nook & Pantry Buttons
• Basic Grey Nook & Pantry Brads
• Autumn Leaves Serenade font
• Autumn Leaves Uncle Charles font

Some things to note:

• I created the title and journaling blocks in Photoshop and printed in color onto textured cardstock.
• The flourish is a die-cut from the Provo Craft Home Decor Solutions cartridge.

Hope you're enjoying your Monday! :)

December 1st Garden!

December, all ready? The theme for this month's Garden is two-page layouts! A bit of a challenge for me, but there were sure a lot of great designs this month:

• Rocker Chicks by Kristina Werner - so cool! and I love those digi stitches. I am so downloading those. Will appease the digi side of my stitching quirk.
• Naughty or Nice? by Nichol Magouirk - she is the queen of two page layouts. I really like her tip to use different backgrounds on each side of the two-pager, but still include some of the same papers.
• La chasse aux champignons by Stephanie Dagan - as if I would peek through the garden and NOT notice Stephanie's work. Yet again. Her style is awesome. 

And also check out this eye candy:

• A Very Good Day by Stephanie Dagan - LOVE this. LOVE.

And here is my two-page layout (with more details and links to supplies here):

©Two Peas in a Bucket

Supplies:

• American Crafts patterned paper
• Basic Grey Patchwork Quilt patterned paper
• Bo Bunny Powder Double Dot patterned paper
• Baby Cute Flair Adhesive Badges
• Silhouette diecutting machine

A few things to note:

• I cut all the butterflies with my Silhouette machine using a free download available in their on-line library.
• I also cut the title with my Silhouette. The fonts are Clarendon ("18") and Cursif ("weeks").

And here's my product focus layout (with more details and links to supplies here):

 

©Two Peas in a Bucket

Supplies:

• Scenic Route Paper Co. graph patterned paper
• Cosmo Cricket Happy Go Lucky rub-ons
• Basic Grey Rob Roy patterned paper
  
• Basic Grey Fuzzy Navel patterned paper
  
• Basic Grey Orange Cream patterned paper
  
• Basic Grey Howdy Doody patterned paper
  
• Basic Grey Sarsaparilla patterned paper
• Basic Grey Lime Rickey Elements stickers
  
• Basic Grey Lime Rickey epoxy brads
  
• American Crafts Rockabye Foam Thickers

A few things to note:

• I stuck with Basic Grey's Lime Rickey line for nearly everything on this layout, and boy did it speed up the process. Highly recommended way to quick layouts. Especially if you happen to be working with bright summer photos. :)
• That yellow birdie? In my mind, he is a duck. Hence, the title.

Back tomorrow with another layout to share.

November 15 Garden

Seriously, life has been SO busy. On top of everything else, I decided that now would be a great time to clean, purge and re-organize my studio. Good thinking, huh? Hopefully, this will all be done by Thursday, so I can share some photos of my space on the Garden Girls blog over at Two Peas. 

But in the meantime, hope you can check out the mid-month garden. The theme is "stickers" and the seasonal focus is Thanksgiving. Here are some of the ones that caught my eye this time around:

• Giving Thanks by Gennifer Bursett - Love this. Love the colors, the fonts, the soft, retro feel. And take some time to read her journaling. I especially love this one, "That Steve doesn't think housework is my job." I'm lucky that way too. Good thing or we'd both be disappointed. :)
• Hiccup Hiccup by Brooke Starnes - So sweet. Love the title rotated to 90 degrees.
• My All Day by Jennifer Gallacher - A GREAT idea for using up those extra American Crafts flair.
• So Thankful by Stephanie Dagan - did I mention I love Stephanie's work? Everything she does is magic. 

Here's a sticker layout (more info here):

©Two Peas in a Bucket

Supplies:

• Cream, blue, dark peach cardstock
• Porcelain 12 x 12 Double Dot patterned paper by Bo Bunny Press
• Grandparents 97% Complete stickers by 7gypsies
• Sparkle Haute ribbon by American Crafts
• Heart deco pins by Heidi Grace
• Hugs 'n' Hearts clear stamp set by Hero Arts
• Peach chalk ink by Colorbox
• Lemonade glazed brad by Basic Grey
• Apron Lace border punch by Fiskars
• Scallop Sentiment border by Fiskars
• Corner Chomper corner rounder by We R Memory Keepers
• Silhouette diecutting machine by QuicKutz

A few things to note:

I used my Silhouette to cut all the hearts in the blue portion of the layout. Then I stamped some of them with flourishes (super hard to see in this photo), and a few are attached with foam adhesive.

The hearts on the dark peach paper are all stamped with images from one set, the Hugs 'n' Hearts set, which is currently 30% off at Two Peas.

I don't think the Heart deco pins are available anymore. I bought them a few years ago, but there are some other options here and here.

And here's a seasonal layout (more info here) :

©Two Peas in a Bucket

A few things to note:

I cut the title with my Silhouette. The font is English, and I just changed the spacing in the text settings, and then selected the weld feature so that it would cut one complete shape rather than eight separate letters.

I stamped behind the title with a flourish from the Fancy Pants Pollen Dust set. It's not available, but I noticed a few other Fancy Pants sets on Two Peas, and - joy! - they're on sale!  

Supplies:

• Aspen Indian Summer paper by Basic Grey
• Cedar Indian Summer paper by Basic Grey
• Russet Indian Summer paper by Basic Grey
• Indian Summer Elements Stickers by Basic Grey
  
• Indian Summer Buttons by Basic Grey
• vellum
• Pollen Dust stamps by Fancy Pants
• Pinecone ink by Tsukineko
  
• Silhouette diecutting machine by QuicKutz

And don't forget to check out the second week of the DIY Holiday Gift class at Two Peas! This week, Kelley Purkey made a clever Envelope Advent Calendar (I love the idea of sending this to someone special with a little giftie envelope for them to open everyday) and Shannon Tidwell made a funky Christmas Card Display.

More Halloween...

Did you all get lots of cards made for WCMD? I didn't get a chance to share any yesterday, but I thought I'd pop by today and share another Halloween card:

 

Supplies: Die-cut cartridges: Stretch Your Imagination, Lyrical Letters, Cardstock: Bazzill Basics, Doodlebug Designs, Patterned Paper: Making Memories, KI Memories, Ink: Versamark, Embossing Powder: American Crafts, Other: Ribbon

It's a quick card that I made using the Stretch Your Imagination and Lyrical Letters cartridges. Both are great for cardmakers. Stretch Your Imagination, because it has pages and pages of seasonal designs from summertime watermelon to wintertime snowmen. Lyrical Letters, because it has several pages of sentiments that you can add to your cards without breaking out the stamps or the printer. Sometimes I like to simplify the process.

For the black background, I used my Cuttlebug to emboss a piece of black cardstock, which I then inked with Versamark and covered with black glitter embossing powder (this stuff is awesome for Halloween stamping projects) to make my own glittered paper. If you didn't feel like going to all the trouble, you could easily use some glittered paper from Doodlebug Designs, but I always like a chance to use my Cuttlebug. :) The pumpkins are backed with red glittered paper and attached to the card with foam adhesive. I'm addicted to that stuff! LOL!

Hope you all are having a fabulous weekend! 

Spooky things...

...like spending lots of money on Halloween decorations. We're decorating around here. Sadie is thrilled. But truth be told, it's rather difficult to find any decorations that are a) not battery operated, b) dripping with plastic blood, 3) not cheap plastic and about to fall apart, and 4) classy with a spooky appeal. We went to Pier 1, Michael's, and IKEA. IKEA was a last resort for a few DIY decorations. We'll see how that goes. :)

In the meantime, here's a little card to spread the ghoulish charm:

I used Provo Craft's A Child's Year cartridge for the card and the witch silhouette.You could cut the witch from glitter paper, but I didn't have any, so I inked her with a glue pad and sprinkled her with black glitter. An easy technique that is little messy, but eye-catching. And who really minds if you have black glitter stuck to your face for three days or so? All in the name of handcrafting... :)

Supplies: Cartridge: A Child's Year by Provo Craft; Yellow Patterned Paper: Basic Grey, Dotty Black Patterned Paper: Bo Bunny, Sticker: 7Gypsies; Glitter: Doodlebug Designs; Gemstone: Hero Arts

My first Garden! (and a busy day for posting)

A lot is happening today...this is my third post of the day! (I guess I'm making up for my absenteeism earlier this week!) If you are linking here from the World Card Making Day blog hop or from Write.Click.Scrapbook, read this first and then scroll down! LOL!

But I definitely can't walk away from the computer without a little blogging about the October Garden. MY VERY FIRST GARDEN! Can I get a little "WOOOOOOT?!"

The theme this month was Typography. Hello?! Bliss. I am crazy for type. I journal always with my computer, and fonts just make me happy. A perfect starting point for me and lots of inspiration from the other Garden Girls. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Columbus and 79th (Genius type treatment that is a title, a journaling block, and a funky design element all at once. Love. Will scraplift.)
• That's Enough (A clipping mask? Tia is smart, and she shares her technique, so now I have no excuse not to try this at home!)
• 12 Months of You and First Weeks With Daddy (Perfect pages for this momma's idea file.)
• My Little Runaway (I love everything she does. All those little details? Perfect.)

and then of course, I had to share this New Product layout:

• Our Holiday Card (If you follow my work, then you know I'm immediately drawn to anything with vellum and stars, so of course, totally LOVE this! It's also causing me to ponder those rolls of vinyl I have for my die-cut machine...hmmm...)

Here's my typography-focused layout:

©Two Peas in a Bucket

I created the title block in Photoshop by sizing and manipulating the font in each line so that it fit into the allotted space. I changed the opacity of the first three lines, so that "baby of mine" would truly stand out as the title. Unfortunately, it wasn't as visible as I wanted, so I used my Silhouette to die-cut the same letters and overlayed them onto the print out. That added depth and a little more crispness to the title. It's easiest to see in real life, but you can see it a little better in this detail shot:

And here's a closer look at some hearts cut with the Silhouette and stamped/embossed:


Click here for more information and supplies used on my layout! And be sure to check the mid-month garden for two more typography-themed layouts! In the meantime, have a great Thursday! :)

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics, Patterned Paper: American Crafts, Flair: American Crafts, Die-cut machine: Silhouette SD Digital Craft Cutter, Punch: Fiskars, Stamps:Houndstooth, Dots by Hero Arts, Ink: Tsukineko, Embossing Powder: American Crafts

World Card Making Day (and a RAK from Banana Frog)

Are you making cards this Saturday? Well, you should! It's World Card Making Day or WCMD to the paper junkies of the world.

Here's my contribution to the celebration:

Supplies: Patterned Paper: October Afternoon, Scenic Route Paper Co., Stamps: Raindrop Background, Thinking of You Makes Me Smile by Hero Arts; Ink: Colorbox; Ribbon: American Crafts; Stickpin: Making Memories; Die-cut: Home Decor Solutions by Provo Craft

I bought that stamp from Hero Arts specifically so that I could color it! I used colored pencils, but you could easily use watercolors or copic markers. The possibilities!

You can find more fabulous cards and great ideas for how to celebrate WCMD on the WCMD blog and the Moxie Fab World blog. And while you're there, be sure to leave a comment so that you have a chance to win some scrappy goodness!

And right here on my blog, I'll be giving away a set of Banana Frog stamps perfect for using on your next card! Beverley - the owner of Banana Frog - has generously given me several sets to share, and today, I'm going to be giving away It's All About...Arrows:

This is only open to North American residents. Leave a comment here (by Sunday midnight MST) and I will draw a name on Monday, October 5th.

Happy cardmaking! :)

Because the leaves are all ready falling...

sniff...a little Autumn project to share:

I used Provo Craft's Stretch Your Imagination cartridge to cut the tree and the word "Autumn," both of which I attached with foam adhesive to a plain kraft background.

The wood grain stamp embellishing the tree is from Banana Frog's Backgrounds set:

And with that, hope you're enjoying a lovely fall weekend! :

Fabulous You (a card)

I just discovered the "hold" feature at the library. This glorious service is perfect for bookworms. Did you know you can actually search the catalogue on-line and reserve your 18 books and the library staff will pull them all and pile them up on a shelf with little paper booksmarks that say "hold for Mary MacAskill?" And to top it all off, they actually phone you when everything is ready. Combine this with goodreads and it's a little bit of bliss on a Tuesday. Ahhhh, the wonders of modern technology never cease to amaze.

So as you may have guessed, I have a few books to read, and therefore, I will keep this short. Another piece of my AC DT submission. The card:

Everything is AC except the stickpin (Making Memories) and the die-cut (Provo Craft's Graphically Speaking cartridge).

Have a good night. I'm off to read a few chapters....

Paolo (a layout)

I have a little music crush. Maybe I've mentioned him before? Mr. Paolo Nutini? Yes, maybe once or twice. I just can't help my fan-girl tendencies. (Never mind the fact that I'm a good 15 years beyond the age of your typical fan-girl.)

I love Paolo. I love scrapbooking. It was only a matter of time...

We can blame the American Crafts Studio Blog:

And as Derrick says, "Paolo is just going to LOVE this."

The super-size star, which is very similar to Paolo's tattoo, is from Provo Craft's new Hannah Montana cartridge. (Tell me, do you think Paolo would love to be linked in any way to Miley Cyrus?)

Did you notice anything very "un-Mary" about this layout? *GASP* I used paint! Shocking, no? It made a great foundation for the photos (btw: from Paolo's website) and journaling, and it wasn't nearly as messy as I anticipated, so I think I just might be a convert. After all, I need to get in touch with my artsy self.

After painting, I stamped with Hero Arts Dots and then stitched a frame around the edge of the cardstock. The title letters are vinyl Thickers that I backed with cardstock, and the cool little spiral is a rub-on from the Rock-star accents MiniMarks.

I accented the main photo with a pink flourish die-cut from the Hannah Montana cartridge and embellished with a Precision Pen.

And there you have it, one of the first pages for my new "There's Something About Mary" album. And do you suppose that with all this free advertising, I should petition for a few concert tickets?

Supplies: Patternd Paper, Flair, Rub-on, Thickers, Pen: American Crafts; Stamp: Hero Arts; Die-cuts: Provo Craft; Paint: Folk Art