SMASH Sunday - One Little Word book

Hello, hello! Today I am sharing more of my One Little Word SMASH book. I based this page spread on the theme of "love" and following your heart. With Valentine's Day coming up and current events in my life, the topic was a good fit.

The background pages on this spread were more modern than my style calls for, but I made it work. First, I made the starburst design on this page the base for my photos.

Some vintage paper, a red shipping tag, and several brads and sequins were all it needed. Oh, and that delicious washi tape!

The opposite page was giving me trouble. After playing for awhile, I came to the conclusion that there was only one thing to be done. I tore out the page. Yep, I just tore it out. In fact, I tore out the next one, too. The ledger page that came next was a perfect compliment to the left page, so I stopped there. I know some SMASHers are thinking, "What?! You can't do that!" Well, yes - I can. It's my book and if tearing out pages makes me happy, then I'll do it. In the long run, I think it will be beneficial, anyway. These pages are already bulging and I'm not even halfway through. Fewer pages means I can use dimensional embellishments and maintain a thinner profile :).

For the ledger page, I went the color-blocking route. I cut up different pieces of Basic Grey paper and fit them into the ledger columns. I journaled in the blank spaces. I also added an Elle's Studio tag, a gold doily, and word stickers by Cosmo Cricket. The flair is by A Flair for Buttons. This set is definitely making its way to more pages in this book :). The "follow your heart" sticker down the side is by SRM Stickers. I love how it fit perfectly in that space :).

That's all I have for today. As always, you can find all of my SMASH book pages in my flickr photostream here. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. Thanks for stopping by! Tessa

SRM and Cosmo Cricket

What happens when you combine SRM Stickers with Cosmo Cricket's new lines?  To find out, pop over to the SRM blog!  I was so excited to be a part of this collaboration.  I fell in love with this piece of paper from the Upcycle line and did (yes, another) senior portrait layout.

When I showed this to Liz, she actually squealed.  This paper is SO her.  I thought the photos seemed dream-like, and when I found an SRM Sticker quote about dreams on a sheet of graduation-themed stickers, I knew it was meant to be :).

FYI, the white mist from Studio Calico does not dry on masking tape.  I left it overnight to dry and it wouldn't.  I had to blot most of it off, but I still love the end result.  The flowers are all handmade :).

Be sure to take a look at the other SRM designers' Cosmo Cricket projects on the blog.  Have a great day! Tessa

Busy at The Studio

First, some happy-yet-bittersweet news:  We are moving back to California!  We've loved living here in Wyoming, but we are too far from both sides of our families.  So, when my husband was offered his old job back at a much higher pay rate, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to be with our families once again.  In between getting ready to start school, my Etsy shop, my position at church, and my design team assignments, I am packing a house.  So, if you don't see me around the blog much in the coming few weeks, just know I'm happily busy and I will be back soon!

Now for some scrappy chit-chat!  There is a new Sunday Challenge up at The Studio: Alter or create from scratch a pretty storage item for your craft space.

We were sponsored by Cosmo Cricket and I used this Blackboard Box with the Delovely collection to create a little storage space for my favorite sketches.  I had too many print outs and pieces of paper with drawn sketches on them littering my scrapbook room, so this was the perfect solution for me.  Now I just print the sketch onto the card (or draw it), note the source, and pop it into my little box.

Also at The Studio, I have a Wednesday Extra tutorial for you.  After getting requests from several people to teach them how I made this yarn wreath...

...I created a tutorial featuring this yarn wreath:

You can find the tutorial here.  And one more bit of The Studio news for you - the big Summer Cyber Crop is coming up on August 21st.  Here is a little sneak peek of my class:

Have a great day! Tessa

Bloom and Grow

We have a new prompt up at The Studio!  The challenge: Let's get in the mood for summer! Scrap a layout using orange and yellow as your main colour scheme!

Using a fantastic two-page sketch from Sketchy Thursdays, I scrapbooked photos of the beautiful rose bush we have on the side of the house.  I pulled the dark green from the photos to help ground the bright, sunny colors and used my Martha Stewart butterfly punch for the first time. 

Like Amanda says at The Studio blog, these aren't necessarily colors I often pair together, but I LOVE how vibrant this layout is.

Cosmo Cricket is sponsoring in July and August!  They are such a generous, funny, and down-to-earth company - I love them. 

If you have a chance, please visit the blog and see the other DT member's takes on the challenge, and don't forget that there are just two days left for The Studio Design Team call.  Come play! We'd love to have you!  Tessa

DeLovely Monster

Happy Sketchy Thursday!  Have you seen the new sketch at Sketchy Thursdays?  I loved it!

The carnival was in town a few weekends ago.  We took the boys and spent an entire afternoon going back and forth from ride to ride.  My hubby decided to try his hand at darts and I decided I wanted a Domo.  After many well-placed darts and a trip to the ATM, I had my monster :).  Isn't he cute?

I used DeLovely papers and chipboard by Cosmo Cricket.  I LOVE this line!  It's so bright, cheerful, energetic, and perfect for carnivals and summer fun!  I picked mine up at Scrapbook Chicks, who is also featuring DeLovely in a new *affordable* kit ($19.99 with shipping - can't beat that!).

I painted my background with the lid of a Prima flowers bottle and some paintbrush splatter.  To emphasize the circle motif, I stitched some of the circles in the patterned paper with the colors from the striped paper.  I thought the circles went well with all those balloons!

Thanks for stopping by! Tessa