A roller stamp in a planner? Yes!

No, I'm not talking about a roller date stamp, I can see how that stamp comes in very handy in a planner. What I am talking about is the roller stamp that came in the October Planner Add-On kit. If you have been wondering how you could use this in your planner, then keep on reading!

I created a planner spread for you to illustrate three ways this stamp set could be used. All the stamping on this spread (except for the numbers) was created using the roller stamp. Let's zoom in:

First, I used black Versafine ink and the plus signs to divide the weekend section into two parts. One for Saturday and one for Sunday. I used black to show that I really mean it, yes - they are two different days!

Then I used the Memento Dew Drop ink in Pear Tart that I purchased in the shop and added a dividing line to all the rest of the days. I used the lighter color to indicate that this division isn't as harsh as the one for Saturday and Sunday. It is a guide for me to keep my spreads clean and usable: the right column is our family schedule, the left side carries my daily to do list and notes.

Then I used the arrow and black ink again because those laundry piles on Mondays usually are as high as the highest mountains. It indicates that the laundry needs to get done. Today!

Finally, I used one of the swirly, scribbly stamps to underline an important event in the week. To emphasize the importance even more I used yet another ink color: Memento Dew Drop in Cantaloupe. And the spread is done.

Do you use roller stamps in your planner? How do you use them? You could also use them to create subtle texture on your journaling pages. If you have great ideas for using the stamp, please leave a comment below!

"English?" - Stuck?! Sketches

Today I have a fun layout and sketch to share with you that Laura from Stuck?! Sketches designed. This sketch is perfect for showcasing large embellishments, using mixed media and layering patterned paper scraps.

Here is my take on the sketch, I dug deep into my stash and pulled old papers from studio tekturek that came in an older Studio Calico kit as well as a 6x6 paper pad that I bought at the yard sale of my local scrapbook store. I really enjoy pulling out all of those things that have been sitting in my stash for a while, it is such a satisfying feeling to finally put them to good use.

I layered several pieces of patterned paper behind my photo and also used two frames on this layout. Which is something new for me, even though I admire the look of frames on other designers' layouts, I haven't really used them yet. So this sketch was the perfect push to venture in this new world of frames.

The sketch suggests that we use a doily ... ahem ... well, there are no doilies in my stash. And there is a reason for that. But the layout works well without one. And instead of a tag, I repeated the patterned paper from the strips on top and created a shelf for the title. I always look at a sketch as a suggestion or starting point so replacing the tag with the strip of paper is just one way of interpretation.

We'd love for you to join us this month and create a project based off this sketch. Be sure and link it up to Stuck?! Sketches for a chance to win a prize from one of our sponsors.

Here is the video where I tell you more about my thought process while creating the layout and the story of the photo and the short title.

"This is us" - Stuck?! Sketches

Have you seen it on facebook or instagram? Or have you read the Stuck?! Sketches Design Team announcement? I'm still pinching myself because I made it! I'm so excited to be part of such a talented group of designers for the next six months. Above you can see the first sketch that will start our term. And below is my interpretation of it.

As you can see, I turned the sketch around. I thought the pictures worked better arranged in this order. And then I started working on the layout. It took me quite a while and I like the way it turned out but I'm not absolutely in love with it. I often have that happen when I want something to be extra super duper special like in this case, my very first layout for this team.
Did you see? I handcut the scallops, they turned out a bit wonky which gives them a whimsical touch. And I used so many things that were in my stash for quite some time. And that totally makes me happy: I used the blue glitter alphas, that came in my very first warehouse sale box. When I received those, I was bummed. These were my very first thickers and then blue glitter?! But here they worked! Yay! I used more of the black phrase thickers that I just had to have and then was too intimidated to actually use. And I used more of those chipboard speech bubbles, they were in that same warehouse sale box. Now that my stash is a bit bigger, I can finally smile about those first purchases, that were a total waste of money, and pull them out, use some and purge the rest.

In the bottom cluster I added the "Say Cheese" flair from feed your craft, that I wasn't able to use on one of my previous layouts. It worked perfectly because the photos were taken when my youngest discovered my old DSLR that I hadn't used in several years. He insisted on charging the batteries and adding a memory card and was the family photographer for several weeks during the summer. He brought out the tripod and we took our very first family photo on a timer. We had so much fun taking the photos and watching him setting it all up.

When creating clusters I try to add the same elements to each cluster, in this layout I made sure there were cameras, chipboard as well as puffy stickers in each one of them. This is such an easy way to make a layout look more cohesive. Doesn't this "my tribe" sticker just go well with the theme of the layout? I layered it on top of the chipboard speech bubble that houses the date.

I started working on the top photo cluster after I had a basic idea of the elements on the left. I didn't really know where to start, so I pulled in all the papers that I used previously. For my journaling I added one label to each of the photo elements.

We'd love for you to play along with this sketch. If you do, please be sure and link your project up to the site. You'll have a chance to win a prize from one of these two sponsors this month.

Here's a link to my process video if you'd like to take a closer peek at how the layout came together. Thanks so much and I hope you have a great day!