Father's Day Card

Hey all, quick post today.  Tons going on in the Skinner casa as of late, but I didn't want you all to miss out on the super fun challenge posted over at Cut It Up challenges.  The theme this week is Father's Day and don't forget you need to use some kind of diecut on your project...thus the 'cut' in Cut It Up ;)

I made a card into the shape of a charcoal BBQ grill.  It swings open to show paper under that we all signed. The grill shape is a circle cut in half and the legs are simply rectangles.  The handle is a square cut that I altered a bit and the font is cut from my Cricut.  I am still struggling to give card making a try, but I'm just gonna keep at it!  :)

Thanks for visiting!

♥

Thank you from the bottom of my ♥

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who emailed, posted to my FB/twitter, etc sending well wishes for our family.  As some of you know my 3yr old had a bad fall on the playground last month at preschool and knocked her noggin for a loop and broke her sweet little nose.  She's been having scary side effects since that would suggest neurological trouble.  A last minute DRs appt Friday ended us up admitted to the local children's hospital for 5 days.  We made it home late last night, but it'll be a long road ahead of outpatient care.  The CT scan, tons of blood work (seriously this kid is covered in 30+ bandaids from IVs and blood draws), 2 sedations, and MRI tests all show that her post concussive syndrome will get better with time, but for the next year or so she has to wear a helmet...unless she's laying/sitting for long periods with hand-to-hand supervision.  She wasn't having it at first, but after learning she could sticker that puppy up to her heart's content...she LOVES it!

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, the tests showed a problem in her sweet little head (the pituitary gland to be specific) that is wreaking havoc on lots of her other systems.  Something we would have struggled to get to the bottom on more and more as she grew up, but now we accidentally happened upon it and can be very proactive to minimize the affect it has on her life.  So I'm definitely counting it as a blessing!  A long road ahead of us, but I'll take manageable and treatable over the alternatives you will see in a children't hospital for sure!!!!

I love this blog as well as my time away from the stress I find in paper crafting myself.  So I don't plan on anything changing here.  I also have enjoyed every bit of my work on my design teams and my own challenge blog.  Although I have been a bit slow in mailing stuff out, commenting and responding to messages, I am still getting there.  I can't imagine ever giving any of this up, especially when I am more thankful than ever for my sweet little peas and this hobby is all about them!

I just wanted to thank you all for the support.  And Ms. Allie wants to thank everyone who came and visited her during our week at the hospital and who called, emailed sweet messages and sent her cards.  I promise you that you all made what was an otherwise traumatic week for her, a lot brighter.

♥ The Skinner family

Thanks for visiting!

♥

SYS: Selfies (and a tutorial)

Hey everyone.  Sorry I'm behind on today's posts...  my littlest fell on the playground at preschool last month and broke her nose and this morning she had a checkup to see how healing is going.  A checkup that I only remembered 30 minutes before it was scheduled...and we live 20minutes away...and we were still in PJs.  Whoops!!!!  So I didn't have time to get all my posts finalized in the race out of door.  On the bright side, however...healing is going BEAUTIFULLY!  ♥

Thanks for the patience.  The layout below is all My Mind's Eye papers and embellies, with the exception of the buttons which were Studio G and the blue letters that are Thickers.  It is my DT project for this week's stamping challenge at Scrap Your Story.  I've done this stamping technique a few times and had comments on how I got it done so below I'll share.  I also followed along with S.W.A.T. Drill #7 by following the top row of the bingo board stamping, doodling and 3 buttons.  My doodling (there are hearts doodled along the top, the right, and the top corner as well as inside of a few hexagons with a white gel pen) goes along with this week's Paper Girls challenge as well.

Now for the promised how-to.  You will notice in several of my recent layouts I had a thick white stamped pattern on the background.  Such as these:

 

Well on my layout this week there is a hexagon stamped with the same technique on some of the patterned paper squares.  How did I do it?  Easy peasy.....  Start with these supplies: 

acrylic paint

foam brush

embossing folder

I like to add glitter in the paint sometimes.  Doesn't show up well in photos, but in person it's a subtle, but awesome touch.  I also like to use paper plates to spread the paint out on if I am adding glitter.  If I'm not, then you can just put a dab directly on the foam brush.  Then you sponge (dab not wipe) the paint onto the embossing folder of your choice.  Just one side.  Keep in mind that whether you choose the embossed or debossed side will decide if you get the outline of the pattern or the solid shape of the pattern.  After dabbing it on, you can turn it over and use it to stamp your pattern on.  If you sponge it on thicker in some places and try to be a little sloppy with your edges it will only add to the distressed look...which I totally dig.  And no worries...if you wash your folder under the faucet in warm dish-soapy water...it comes perfectly clean.  If you leave it for more than half and hour you may need to scrub a little, but if you hop up as soon as you are done..it literally just rinsing right away...even in the little crevices.  :)

If you give it a try, shoot me a link in the comments...I'd love to come see!!!!  :) :) :) 

Thanks for visiting!

♥

CIU: Altered Notepad

Hey all!  This week at Cut It Up we are working with the theme: MAKE IT MINI.  You can make a mini album, mini notecards, alter something itty bitty, tiny gifts, anything that's mini!  :)  For my project I chose to alter a mini notepad.  I covered the stock paper that covers the top edge with double sided tape and then added patterned paper.  Embellished it up and then added a magnet to the backside so it can go up on my fridge.  As always, to play along you have to include a diecut...thus the CUT part of CUT it up.  ;)  See what they did there...lol.  My diecut is the flag on the back of the owl.  They are cut from the Create-a-Critter Cricut cartridge.

I'm also sharing this notepad with the challenge posed by Lynette over at Sketch N Scrap.  This month they are celebrating their birthday with a whole month of daily challenges.  Hers was posted on the 9th and instructed us to alter something.  :)  This started as a notepad...and well it's still a notepad, but it's waaaaay prettier!  :)

Thanks for visiting!

♥

SYS: Another sketch!!!

Hey all, we're back with another sketch week at Scrap Your Story.  Take a peek:

Fun fun, right???  Hop on over to play along and see what the rest of the designers did with this sketch.  Below is my take.  :)

Thanks for visiting!

♥

Echo Park Layout of Love

This National Scrapbook Day (well really weekend!!) Echo Park is hosting four awesome challenges.  I am smack dab in the middle of working on numero quatro as we speak, but thought I'd share my take on challenge #2 while I was waiting for something to dry on that one.

This challenge was to scrap about someone you love.  Well boy, oh boy do I love my boy!  He got new glasses this winter and rather than get bummed like most kids do, he decided to embrace his inner geek chic!  LOL.  He is the king of silly faces which is why the journaling starts with "I ♥ your silly sweetness!"  It does pull out for more reasons why I love him.

All of the paper and embellishments are from the Echo Park "All About A Boy" line.  The letters are from my stash, but everything else is Echo Park yumminess!  TFL

Thanks for visiting!

♥

Cut It Up #18 MOTHER'S DAY

*For my Scrap Your Story DT project click HERE*

Every two weeks a new diecut challenge.  You simply follow the theme and include a diecut (manual or electronic) somewhere on the project and you're in!  Sounds easy enough right?  Well this week our challenge over at Cut It Up is Mother's Day.  I created a layout all about being a mom to daughter's and how special that relationship is to me having grown up without a mom.  There's lots of hidden journaling tucked behind the photo just on the right side.

This is another 8x8 for my favs from Instagram book I'm working on.  

Thanks for visiting!

♥

Sisters

Hey guys.....long time no 'see'.  Well for you it's only been 2 weeks since I utilized the autopost feature, but it feels like I haven't been here in a month.  I've had a sweet little girl who got pretty badly hurt at school on the playground (bad concussion and broken nose) which is no fun anytime, especially when you are only in preschool and your mom has been put in charge of not allowing you to so much as bump your head for 3 weeks.  Yeah..no pressure right?!  LOL.  So, I'm sure you can see why that's not conducive to Mommy getting any happy scrappy time.  But that's okay, because I got LOTS of baby girl snuggly time.  ♥

I'm back this week with a layout for Scrap Your Story's 10th challenge...all about FAVORITES!

Scrap your favorite moment, your favorite picture, your favorite holiday, your favorite item(s), in fact this week's challenge would be PERFECT for a list style layout.

Here is my layout with a favorite photo.  It was taken on a super cold snowy day when swimming just wasn't going to happen.  Queue super cute suits, Mommy's jacuzzi tub and tons of bubbles.  This is an 8x8 page for my 'Instagram favorites book' I'm working on.

I had a terrible time getting a decent photo.  I mean...waiting for sunlight is easier said than done when I'm battling 2" of snow on the ground...in MAY!?!?!  UGH!  I know it's no sunny beachside community, but I live in Kansas for goodness sakes.  Normally by May we are scorching.  :(  

I'm also sharing this layout with Southern Girls Challenges.  This week they asked for projects with quotes on them.  My super long title is one of my very favorite quotes that I've had written on my inspiration board for months and finally got to use it!  :)  

Thanks for visiting!

♥