One sketch .. two layouts

Was Easter really only just last weekend?? Where has the time gone? I had the pleasure of the company of a very, very special, dear friend for the Easter break. Sandy (heh Sandy!!!) came to stay. We had such a great time. Chatting, eating, drinking, shopping, scrapping, laughing, crying. It was just wonderful. It also reminded me of the last time Sandy was here ..

A couple of months back when Sandy was here for another weekend break she used one of my Alz Sketchz to create a layout ..

Maaate ... by Sandy

products used:

cardstock - SU Confetti White cardstock

patterned paper - Basic Grey Marrakesh collection

other - Tim Holtz Distress embossing powder, chipboard flourish

This is the sketch Sandy used ..

Alz Sketchz

Christmas (Memories)

I love Sandy's layout. The simplicity works so well for a male based page, and the title is perfect. You can just picture (or hear) the guys saying "maaate". What a priceless photo! Thanks Sandy.

I had also wanted to give this sketch a go so figured I'd whip up something to share before I post this post. Here's what I came up with ..

Adorable

products used:

cardstock - SU Naturals Ivory

patterned paper - Pink Paislee Prairie Hill: Spool, Country Meadow, Sun Spot, Hilltop, Kite Strings, Flight Pattern (including reverses)

embellishments - Pink Paislee Prairie Hill shipping tags and chipboard pops, Prima flowers - Tattered Treasures (wheat) and Tasha (Gold), Polly! felt butterfly, Jules Gems' resin flowers, A Lil Somethin' mistable cogs and mistable banner, Charms Creations {fabulous} flowers, crochet flower, twine, sewing machine thread, bottle cap

alphas - Quickutz Mini alpha dies, American Crafts Thickers - Giggles, Foam, Cream

other - Inkssentials Glossy Accents, VersaMagic Jumbo Java chalk ink pad

font - Optima

"It's not to my liking" said GB. LOL, that's okay GB because I love it!!! I'm in such a more is more phase at the moment. LOL can you tell? GB's tastes run to the more clean and simple, perhaps a little graphic. Too bad GB .. if you want clean and graphic take up scrapping!!!!!  :p

Oh and this is the original layout from which my friend Kylie (heh K!!) of {Yillup Designs} created the digital sketch for me ..

Memories (Christmas)

products used:

patterned paper - Bo Bunny Tis the Season collection

alphas - Carolee Creations sleek red alphas

embellishments - Hambly Collections journaling spots, Zva pearl flourish, Kaiser pearls

punches/dies - Big Shot Thick Cuts Circles die

other - Sharpie journaling pen

So there you go, one sketch two ways. Thanks as always to K for being so generous with her time and making up my Alz Sketchz and for Sandy testing them out for me.   :)

Scrap the Girls - October

I've been planning this layout for ages now and when the Scrap the Girls October challenge came along I finally found the motivation to get it done! The challenge was to use the word 'love' in your title and to use distressing ...

Love her doll

published in Creating Keepsakes Vol. 17 Issue 6 

You can find the Scrap the Girls October challenge HERE. Thanks for a fabulous challenge Marelize!

I also drew inspiration for this layout from Cliff Richard's Living Doll song lyrics. When I look back at all the 'posed' photos of me as a child I get the distinct impression my mum gained a lot of pleasure from making my clothes and dressing me up in outfits, doing my hair and putting it in big bows. I started to feel like a walking, talking, living doll! I remember how much I loved doing the same with my dolls and how much I had loved and treasured my dolls and so figured my mum really must have loved her living doll. (By the way, my mum only had one daughter amongst four sons!!!)

I've used another of my Alz Sketchz to create this layout ...

Alz Sketchz - What you see

... which my buddy Kylie (heh K!) of {Yillup Designs} fame (see HERE) made for me from my original layout ...

What you see

products used:

cardstock - Green Tara handmade embossed mulberry paper; patterned paper - My Minds Eye Quite Contrary Little Boy Blue, When I Grow Up - Owl be There, Curious - Who Loves You, Curious accessory sheets; American Crafts Thickers - Rockabye - Foam - Leaf; My Little Shoebox alphabet stickers - Turquoise; Kitty Robot owl button; chocolate Zig Writer; Making Memories staples; Colop date stamp; Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Crushed Olive, Tumbled Glass, Pumice Stone; Kaiser acrylic paints - Seabreeze, Mud Puddle; VersaMagic chalk inkpad - Jumbo Java; fabric

I'm not entirely sure what to do with myself now. Scrapping is a very emotional (without the hysterics LOL) activity for me. When I scrap, I scrap from the heart. Just now, trying to not deal with losing Max (because to deal with it I think would kill me), I'm sort of trying to not feel any 'real' emotions if that makes sense. It feels as though if I allowed myself to tap into my emotions too deep, I'd find the box of emotions relating to Max which I've set aside. I'm guessing if I hadn't been planning my layout Love her doll for a while, I wouldn't have been able to scrap it. On another note, a local florist is selling my cards (yeah!) and has requested (surprisingly I thought) a lot of Christmas cards so perhaps I'll get stuck into those? Then again, I do have an awfully large number of challenge notes and sketches printed so perhaps I should sit with those tonight (whilst I'm pretending to ignore the rugby on the TV) and see if any of them jump out and inspire me and then, feel do-able. LOL, what to do???

Anyways that's just about enough rambling from me today. I hope you're all having a fantastic weekend.  :)

Sweet and simple

Unlike the little girl in the photo LOL!!!

I honestly think I must have been the grumpiest little girl who ever lived. Photos of me smiling are as rare as hen's teeth. Seriously! In most photos of me as a little girl I'm either scowling or just kind of staring at the camera. Perhaps even at a very young age I had 'scrapper's child syndrome' ... you know when your children get tired of having their photo taken because you want yet another scrapping opportunity?? LOL neither my mother nor my father were 'scrappers' but my father it has to be said, was almost obsessive about documenting and photographing everything we did. So perhaps at about 18 months old I was simply over having my photo taken?? Who knows. All I do know is that looking at this photo I see one very grumpy girl!

Grumpy girl

products used:

cardstock - Prismatics White, Stampin' Up! Confetti White; patterned paper - My Little Shoebox Garden Party, Fields a Bloom (reverse), Three Bugs in a Rug Happy Bird-day, Bird-day Stripe (reverse), Sassafras Lass Sunshine Broadcast, Flourish (reverse) and wee bundle (6x6); Sassafras Lass cardstock stickers - Blue Graph (alphas) and Flag Banners; Making Memories velvet brads, Yillup Designs crocheted flower, Purple Pumpkin button, Washi Tape; Font - 2Peas Gimme Coffee

Grumpy girl is my entry in in this month's Scrap the Girls challenge. The challenge this month was to create a layout using the quote ...

"Children need love, especially when they do not deserve it."

~ Harold Hulbert

Although in the past, not having my own children, I haven't played along with Scrap the Girls, this month I thought "why not" and decided to give it a bash with a photo of myself as a little girl. It's not like I have a shortage of childhood photos I want to scrap!! You can find the Scrap the Girls challenge blog HERE.

Oh and I used one of Alz Sketchz to 'whip up' this layout ...

Alz Sketchz - You

I love the simplicity of this sketch and that it allows for so much white space. Following is the original layout my buddy Kylie of Yillup Designs used to create the sketch for me ...

You

products used:

background paper - Green Tara handmade mulberry paper, embossed black; patterned paper - My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary Little Boy Blue "Curious" Who Loves You, Quite Contrary Jack & Jill "Be Happy" Blissful and "Life is Good" Serene Spots; Sizzix Boss-O alphabet dies; My Little Shoebox alphabet stickers - Gumball; Basic Grey decorative paper clip - Sugar Rush; Jillibean Soup canvas flower - Red Polkas; Prima Embroidered Tab - Play; Chatterbox Ribbon & Trim - Ruban; Kitty Robot polymer clay buttons; Stampin' Up! Real Red stampin' pad; Colop date stamp fabric, felt, suede

Thanks yet again for an awesome sketch K!!! Amongst her many other talents, Kylie makes the most amazing crocheted items. You can see them in her etsy store HERE. Incidentally, the aqua/teal coloured crochet flower on my layout Grumpy girl is one of Kylie's! Awesome huh?

Til next time ... stay safe and don't do anything I wouldn't do (ha ha)!!  :)

More of Matilda

Is Tiff Firth brilliant or is she brilliant? Honestly? I adore this photo she captured of my friend Tammi's little girl Matilda (hi Tim Tam and Matilda!). I especially love the way Tiff edited the photo to black and white to blow out the colour of Matilda's eyes. Stunning work Tiff!!! Check out more of Tiff's work HERE.

As with the other photo of Matilda I've scrapped, when I saw this photo I knew I had to work with it. The jury is out on how I feel about this layout. I was battling some pretty horrendous generalised anxiety at the time and in the end made myself, after three or so days of procrastinating over it, just start sticking things down. On the one hand I really like how it came together, yet on the other I feel such a dramatic photo really should have been scrapped far more simply to let the photo shine. I'm not sure. I don't know. I do think it is lovely though ...

Mesmerising

products used:

cardstock - Bazzill Swiss Dots; patterned paper - K&Co Addison specialty papers, K&Co Amy Butler designer paper; Websters Pages vintage inspired netting; K&Co Blue Awning Metal Art; crystal brads; lilybeedesign ABC stickers; American Crafts Thickers - Delight, Fabric, Black and Lullaby, Foam, Charcoal; K&Co Amy Butler embossed stickers, die-cut cardstock and fabric tag; K&Co Elegance Die-Cut acetate; Zva Creative black crystal flourish; black Kaiser rhinestones; black Zig Writer; black sewing machine thread

Because I have a backlog of sketches to work through (I can scare keep up with my friend Kylie [heh K!] of Yillup Designs) I've used yet another of Alz Sketchz ...

Alz Sketchz - Julie

Kylie created the sketch from a layout I produced for Kaiser during a guest designer stint for them ...

Julie

products used:

Kaiser Gypsy Sisters Collection: patterned paper - Nadia, Sofia, Esmerelda and Ella, colour Rub Ons, Die Cut Elements, 6" paper pad; Kaiser Flowers and Pearls both in Snow; Bazzill Swiss Dots cardstock; QuicKutz "Stardust" alpha dies; Uniball Signo white pen; Zig Calligraphy pen - Antique Burgundy

Thanks again Kylie for all the hard work you put in helping me to create my own range of sketches.  Hugs.  xx

PS: You can visit Kylie's ETSY store HERE.
PPS: Thanks again Tim Tam for allowing me to scrap Matilda!  xx

I'm baaaaaaaaack ...

I love music. All types of music. I love to sing. That I'm possibly the world's worst singer doesn't phase me. (If you believe GB I'm tone deaf LOL.) I'm also shocking at remembering song lyrics. Despite this, I am often inspired by music, particularly song lyrics, when scrapping. This layout was created with Queen's "You're my best friend" playing in the recesses of my mind. I had already decided the title would be "best friends", or something to that effect and then instantly, wouldn't you know it, Queen starts playing, on a loop I might add, in my head. The lyrics were perfect and with a little 'tweaking' the following was born ...

Best friends

products used:

cardstock - Core'dinations Whitewash Collection, Stampin' Up! Kraft, Bo Bonny Slate Dot; patterned paper - Crate Paper Restoration Collection Fringe, Doilies (including reverse), Lace (including reverse), 7Gypsies Portobello, SEI Moravia flocked; Fancy Pants Designs designer trading cards; Making Memories velvet brads; CK OK antique brads; Basic Grey decorative paper clips; alphas - Carolee's Creations Adornit Sleek White Alphas, My Minds Eye Lime Twist Out of the Blue "Playful" Alphabet; Kaisercraft and Autumn Leaves rub-ons; Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Antique Linen; Big Shot Thick Cuts Circles die, Sizzix Circle #3 die; EK Success photo corner punch; leather and orange sinamay

I used one of Alz Sketchz when creating this layout ...

Alz Sketchz - Face of an angel

Special thanks to my buddy Kylie of Yillup Designs (heh K!) for creating this sketch from my original layout Face of an angel ...

Face of an angel

products used:

American Crafts cardstock - black and white; Kaisercraft Loire Valley - die-cut elements, 'extras' from Kaisercraft magazine; Kaisercraft Pearls - Teal; Kaisercolour acrylic paint - Seabreeze; Carolee's Creations Adornit Sleek Red Alphas; Prima Belle Fleur flowers - Tide Pool and Red Curry; Tiddlypeep Designs transparency; Creative Impressions White with White Swirl Organdy ribbon; cream, medium round brads; Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Fired Brick; Ranger Glossy Accents; black Zig Writer; Fiskars border punch - upper crest

Amongst other things, Kylie makes the most beautiful crocheted embellishments for scrapbooking and other crafting.  You can see them, and more, HERE.

What do I like best about my layout Best Friends? The unintended (but perfect) double entendre ... GB and Max are my best friends and GB and Max are best friends. You've got to love it when it all just 'gels' yes?   :)

From just one layout ...

... came a sketch, a mini layout (3x3"), mini album covers, a 12x12" layout and two cards.  This 'just one layout' is the culprit ...

Beautiful

published in Scrapbooking Memories Volume 11 No. 7

products used include: Treasures and Core'dinations cardstock; Kelly Panacci and Crate Paper patterned papers; Little Yellow Bicycle transparency; K&Co die-cut cardstock shapes; Doodlebug stick with it alphas; WeRMK foil sheets; Crate Paper rub-ons; Stampin' Up! scallop edge punch; Kaiser pearls; Zig marker; various ribbons (including Maya Road velvet ric rac), buttons, fabric and other haberdashery items; and a generic 'cheapie' (but super stunning don't you think?!) flower

Although I created this layout quite some time ago now, it remains one of my firm favourites.  I remember being inspired by the photo and after editing it, being inspired to create something dreamy, floaty and childlike in its innocence.  Recently, my friend Kylie of {yillup designs} (see HERE) created a sketch from this layout ...

Beautiful sketch

I love how this sketch turned out (thanks K!!) and was eager to give it a whirl more than two years after creating the original layout.  But I confess, I'm in the middle of my first (and hopefully last!) serious head cold for the season and over the past week I haven't felt much like creating.  Plus, and this bit is more than a tad exciting, I'm going on a scrapbooking retreat in June so I've been a bit of an eager beaver getting a head start on my photos and kits to take away.  Could I bring myself to drag myself away from the retreat preparation long enough to actually scrap?  LOL at the rate I was going I would be taking away enough projects and kits to work on I'd never get them done in a month of Sundays.  What to do?  Then I remembered I needed to make ten mini (3x3") layouts for a swap at the retreat.  Why not use my sketch (somewhat shrunk you could say) to create those mini layouts?  Problem solved!!!  This is what I came up with ...

Alz

note - the layout is actually 3.5x3" so as to allow 0.5" for binding

products used include: Stampin' Up! Kraft cardstock; Making Memories Greenhouse Paperie patterned papers; Kaiser rhinestones; Prima Forever Flowers; ribbon; Zig writer; Stampin' Up! Embosslits die, Beautiful Wings; EK Success border punch (postage stamp); and Stampin' Up! 2 3/8" scallop circle punch

I'd had the Making Memories Greenhouse Paperie range (okay I confess I have all four colours in the Paperie range) in my stash for what feels like eons without using it.  A girlfriend used the Greenhouse range last year some time when she was here and we were cyber cropping (hi Sandy!) but otherwise, I've left them dormant.  What was I thinking?!  Was I crazy?!!!  This range was divine to work with.  I will be the first to admit I have always had a thing for Making Memories, since the day I started scrapping. Having said that I can't quite understand why I hadn't done anything with these collections before.  Well let me say, once I had done 10 versions of this mini layout I was hooked.  So hooked I proceeded to do my mini album covers for the mini layouts (once we have swapped them all at the retreat that is), completely forgetting that covering our mini albums was meant to be one of the retreat challenges.  Seriously what a dufus!  There's nothing I can do about the fact that I've completed the challenge only about six or seven weeks before the event so I may as well share.  Oh and no I'm not going to officially 'enter' them with the other mini albums.  Seriously ... what a dufus!!!

3MMM mini album covers

products used include: chipboard; Stampin' Up! Top Note die; Stampin' Up! Embosslits die, Beautiful Wings; Stampin' Up! Kraft cardstock (on the inside of the covers); Making Memories Greenhouse Paperie patterned paper, trim, blossoms and buttons; embroidery cotton; Kaiser rhinestones; American Crafts Thickers, rockabye, foam, leaf

Now honestly, can you see why I have fallen in love (all over again) with this fabulous range?  The darker green paper covering the front and back of the album covers is actually flocked.  I love things which are touchy feely and this flocked paper fits the bill!!  After I had mistakenly completed this challenge now instead of in mid June (have I mentioned what a dufus I am?!?!) I packed everything away nice and neat ready to start my next project only, LOL, to pull it all out again to keep creating.  I wasn't hooked on this paper range, I had well and truly jumped from the water into the boat!  Over the course of five days (yes I know that's slow, even for me, but remember I'm scrapping with a nasty head cold), using this collection, as mentioned above, I created 10 mini layouts, decorated my mini album covers, made a 12x12 layout and two cards.  After all this I managed to successfully (for now!) put the collection away and away it has remained.  I'll admit though I'm not so sure if that's because I've finished with it for the time being or because I'm scared I'm going to use it all up LOL!!!

This is the 12x12 (my preferred size) layout ...

Couple of kids

(briefly and all over the place) the products used include: various American Craft Thickers; Kitty Robot buttons; Glossy Accents and FolkArt paint; red brads; Buzz and Bloom chipboard; Stampin' Up! Embosslits die, Beautiful Wings; Making Memories (there they are again!) Clear Creations, Family; chipboard; Prismatics and Bazzill Swiss Dots cardstock; Tim Holtz Alterations dies - Paper Rosette and Mini Paper Rosettes (I LOVE this new die!!!); Making Memories Greenhouse Paperie patterned papers; and The Crafter's Workshop template, Zinnia

For those of you interested in creating your own 'die-cut' look background papers, can I suggest you invest in some templates by The Crafter's Workshop?  They are so versatile, working fabulously (amongst other things) as masks, but in this instance quite simply as a template to create a cut out paper background ...

It really is as easy as tracing/drawing the outline of the template on your patterned paper (or cardstock as the case may be), using a craft knife to cut out the pattern (I suggest a super sharp knife and a glass cutting mat to make this job faster and cleaner), and then erasing your pencil lines.  Voila!

Finally, here are the two cards I made, using the sketch Beautiful for inspiration ...

Asian bird

Asian grasses

products used in making these cards include: Prismatics and Bazzill Swiss Dots cardstock; Making Memories Greenhouse Paperie journaling book and patterned paper; Making Memories Rouge Paperie felt clips (I told you I had the other colours!); red brads; red Kaiser pearls; Stampin' Up! Embosslits die, Beautiful Wings; Tim Holtz Alterations dies, Paper Rosette and Mini Paper Rosettes; Sizzix Sizzlits border die, Scallops, Giant; Stampin' Up! stamp set, Asian Artistry; Stampin' Up! ink pads, Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss; Stampin' Up! Kiwi Kiss cardstock; Stampin' Up! scallop trim border punch; Maya Road twill; sewing machine and cotton

I don't know about anyone else but I think that's enough green and red for this time of year.  LOL anyone could be forgiven for thinking I had mistaken it was Christmas ...

Inspired by colour

Here it is, the March colour palette for the monthly ScrapChat challenge ...

Could this photo and palette be any more inspiring?  Honestly?  Maybe because kraft cardstock is the current trend, perhaps because red is a colour which features in so many of my photos of Max, possibly because I love stitching and the textures in the photos?  Whatever the reason, I was truly inspired by this colour palette and photo.  This is the layout I created, albeit late, for this challenge ...

Max's red sofa

I have used way too many products to list them all individually, however, included are products and patterned papers from Basic Grey's Max & Whiskers collection (how could I not LOL?!), handmade felt flowers, a Unity Stamp, various mists and ink, Sizzix Originals die Flower Layers #4, Sizzix Bigz die Frame Back, Ornate #6, Prima flowers, Making Memories felt alphas, and a pom pom paperclip from Switzerland.

This was such a fun layout to create.  Want to know why?  I 'lifted' one of my own layouts which my buddy Kylie from {Yillup Designs} (see HERE) turned into a sketch for me.  Following is the original layout and the sketch (thanks K!!!) ...

A celebration of LOVE

as published in Creating Keepsakes issue 15.3

and the sketch

Having the sketch meant I could sit back and relax whilst creating my layout Max's red sofa.  Don't get me wrong.  It still took the better part of a day LOL!  I am quite possibly the world's slowest scrapper.  Honestly.  I really like to take my time and pay attention to the smaller details like, in this instance, making my own felt flowers.  They were a fairly simple process, but I took my time.  I used a lot of mists to alter the colour of my Prima flowers, I did a little stamping on the background cardstock before starting all my layering; I sat outside during the one sunny moment of the day (!) to distress and sand the edges of my patterned paper; I relaxed as I chose my embellishments, some themed and others just for fun (like the gorgeous red pom pom paperclip I bought from Switzerland ... a very yummy textural element don't you think?).  Oh and yes there is journaling.  Would you expect anything less from me?  At the top left is a journaling tag from Little Yellow Bicycle's Say What?! Journal Tablet range (this one is from the Dog 'tablet') which can be pulled out and tells the story of Max's red sofa.

All in all it was a really enjoyable layout to create and has inspired me to keep creating.  Oddly it even inspired me to cook dinner LOL!  Perhaps the tea towels in the photo used for the colour palette had something to do with that?  Whatever the case we had linguine with a delicious, tomato based meatball sauce.  Yum!

Thanks, yet again, for your help with the sketch K.  Hugs.

If you've got it ...

... use it!  Have you ever created a layout and thought "yep, I really like this one"?  Well why not create a sketch from your layout and file it away for future reference ... perhaps for the next time you are stumped for an idea or your mojo has left the reservation?

I'm super lucky to have an awesome friend who totally rocks the digi world ... heh Kylie ('K') of {Yillup Designs}.  I'm also really fortunate that K is very generous with her time.  So occasionally, when I've created something I particularly like, I'll email K a photograph of my layout and ask her ever so very nicely to create a digital sketch for me, and 'voila' she does!

This is one such layout which I created for Kaiser (as a guest designer back in March 2010 ... OMG was that really 12 months ago?!?!?!?!!!!!) using their stunning Peachy Keen collection ...

which K digitally turned into a sketch for me ...

from which I created this layout (I 'flipped' the sketch to suit the orientation of my photo) ...

Products used include Sizzix Scallops, Giant, Sizzix Vine w/Leaves, Sizzix Circle, Scallop, Sizzix/Tim Holtz Styled Labels, Sizzix/Tim Holtz Tattered Florals, Quickutz 12" border die Damask, Tim Holtz Distress Inks Shabby Shutters, Old Paper, Tattered Rose, and Antique Linen, Tim Holtz Color Wash Lettuce, various punches, stamps, crochet and wool-felting accessories, and Darkroom Door Bloom collection patterned papers together with Crate Paper Bliss collection patterned papers, oh and one of my handmade stick pins (made for Leanne's swap)

This layout came together like a breeze.  Because sketches are so easy to work with, I love them; but I also love to create my own original work, so this was a perfect blend of the two.  Seriously, next time you create a layout you are particularly pleased with, consider creating a sketch from it for future reference.  It worked for me!

est. 365

When GB and I were renting (in between having sold our old home and waiting for construction of the new one to be completed) we rented a home in a new estate with enormous, empty paddocks behind us with the most vast, open skies.  Skies larger than anything we had ever seen before in Melbourne.  Well at least compared to those we had grown accustomed to seeing from our backyard at our previous inner city home where the nights were never truly dark because of all the city lights.  These unobstructed skies out west were like those from the country ... possibly even better, because they were in our own backyard!!!

The living end of our home faced directly west.  We had really, really large sliding glass doors which faced directly west.  It was hot.  Hotter than hot.  We had no shade.  Nothing at all.  Even in the middle of a freezing cold Melbourne's winter it was hot.  Too hot.  In summer it bordered on unbearable.  But every single night nature put on a spectacular show, seemingly just for us.  I don't know how many other people (if any) living on our side of the street with the same western aspect stopped to enjoy these magical moments in each night.  But when GB was home we certainly did.  Oh and did we photograph them ... much?  LOL it almost became a competition between the two of us to see who could get the better photos.  Don't tell GB but I'll confess that without the use of a tripod his top of the range Panasonic Lumix took some pretty darn amazing photos and the one on this LO is one of his.

So yep, we sweltered.  So much so I lost weight ROFL!!!  I don't miss the sweltering now that we're in our new home; but I sure do miss the spectacular sunsets.  And those quiet moments standing together, in each other's arms, watching the day slowly come to an end.

Thanks Lucy (Crazymumm) for a fabulous sketch to work with for the ScrapChat February sketch challenge.  It was exactly what this photo needed.

products include a Rhonna Farrer digital frame, Bo Bunny dots cardstock, various dies, a gorgeous {Yillup Designs} beaded crocheted flower, and a handmade and designed stick pin by Leababy (thanks for the RAK Leanne and yes please ... LOL I'm begging you ... do hold a stick pin swap!!!)

Lucy's sketch

Wishing everyone the start to a fabulous weekend.  Hugs ...

PS:  Does anyone have any tips for photographing LOs with large (or small for that matter) transparencies on them without (a) getting yourself in the reflection of the transparency and (b) without getting any shading or grey areas on the transparency?  This is an appallingly bad photo of my LO but I'm otherwise at a loss.  Any and all tips and techniques would be gratefully received.  :)