"We had such a blast" - Stuck?! Sketches

Oh the doilies on the sketches ... there is another one here on this sketch for the February 15, 2018 challenge over at Stuck?! Sketches. I love this sketch - it is such a great way to feature one special photo prominently on a page. And that's exactly what I did.

You know I couldn't use a doily, so I replaced it liberally with mixed media and a free heart cut file from Paper Issues (unfortunately I wasn't able to locate it in their store). That's the great thing about sketches, you do not have to take them literally, the doily simply suggests a "something behind the main photo cluster that sticks out unevenly on multiple sides". And that's exactly what my mixed media background does too. I scrapbooked a photo from the photo booth at my sister's wedding. Originally, I wanted to make a lovey-dovey layout for my husband, but somehow that story didn't really go with the crazy layout and so I decided to document the wedding instead. And I think that was the right decision.

I used Shimmerz Vibez and Inklingz to create the background using the packaging technique and then decided to leave the cut file white in order for it to be visible on the page but still take a back seat. I was debating filling the hearts with patterned paper but then quickly decided against it in order for more of the pretty colorful background to be seen.

This close-up of one of the embellishment clusters shows how all the different layers complement each other and add to the beautiful texture of the page. I really love this specific part of the layout, especially because I was able to use that holographic unicorn on the page. When I purchased the ephemera pack I wasn't sure about if I would even use any of them. And then I get to use one on the very first layout that I made using the beautiful "Glitter Girl Collection" by Shimelle.

Here is a link to my video on youtube where you can see how this layout came together. Please make sure to check out the Stuck?! Sketches blog and have a look at all the other layouts by the Design Team. We would love for you to play along and link your layout to the link up to win some lovely prizes!

A different kind of POCKET LETTER using PACKAGING

I am sharing a pocket letter today that I made from different bits and pieces from my January and February Cocoa Daisy Memory Keeping kits. I especially used those things that you would usually not consider as paper crafting products: mainly all different kinds of packaging. This pocket letter was greatly inspired by Moon Hulsman who shared a very similar idea on her instagram last year.

As you can see, I used one of the big brown paper bags that our kits used to come in as my base and just folded the paper "harmonica style" to create pockets. Then I decorated the paper using the acrylic paint and layered papers and die cuts on top. Then I went on to create the filling for my pocket letter. Once I had gathered all the different pieces, I then went on to mark the width of each pocket and sewed lines along each pocket.

I used the stamp from the Classified kit: memory keeping edition and some lined paper to create some fun stationery for my pen pal and set aside one of the pages to write my own letter.

Here are some of the items I included in the letter: a glassine bag with some sequins and a flair button (all from the Cocoa Daisy Memory Keeping kits "Shine Bright"), a partial pack of enamel shapes (from the Cocoa Daisy Memory Keeping kits "Always") where I cut down a piece of the backing paper from one of the packages and added it all into another little bag of packaging. A bag with leftover die cuts, I again removed the backing and replaced it with a scrap of patterned paper and added a piece of ribbon to the top. And finally some washi samples from the Planner kits as well as the Cocoa Daisy Memory Keeping kits "Shine Bright" that I wrapped around a used Cable Car ticket.

Finally, I used the new yellow polka dot bag that contained our Memory Keeping kits this month to create an envelope. Because I am not so sure about the paper holding up while traveling all the way to the Philippines I used packing tape very liberally.

Here is a closer look at the pocket letter! I can't tell you how excited I am to send it off to my friend who has been waiting for a reply from me for such a long time. Thank you so much for letting me share this with you today!

"DARE Culmination" - Stuck?! Sketches

I don't know if this happens to you, but I tend to fall head over heels in love with new scrapbooking collections and have to have them and then, once they are here I put them away because I'm too intimidated to use them. Last Fall I purchased several items from two collections: Wild Child and Glitter Girl and put it away to hoard it. For the February Stuck?! Sketches I decided to make an effort to pull out the new stuff and use it. Laura's sketch was a great jumping off point to get me started!

I decided to scrapbook these two photos of my oldest son at his DARE culmination. I remembered I never scrapbooked them when I worked on the same (but different) layout for my middle son. After I pulled out the photos I did not only go through my new papers and embellishments but also looked for coordinating patterns in my stash of patterned papers and created a page kit. And I'm so excited about this discovery! I know page kits aren't a new thing, but they are new to me and I loved having everything there in my bag: papers, embellishments, photos and the sketch. And once I have some free time, I can just grab an scrap.

Here is a closeup of the upper embellishment cluster. I primarily chose the lion for the color and it just felt right there. But then I remembered when voicing over the video that the DARE mascot is DAREN a lion. And so this quite random embellishment makes sense after all. When playing around with my embellishments and the placement of them, I noticed a diagonal tendency that I then emphasized by choosing red embellishments to be placed on the diagonal and by adding the star stickers as a final touch.

This closeup photo shows the title and the chipboard camera that is so old I don't even know what collection it is from. And yes, it's pink and I don't even care: It's close enough to red. I love the dimension it adds to the page and think the combination of old and new embellishments working together so well makes it even better! I added my journaling along the bottom of the

Here is a link to my video on youtube where you can see how this layout came together. Please make sure to check out the Stuck?! Sketches blog and have a look at all the other layouts by the Design Team. We would love for you to play along and link your layout to the link up to win some lovely prizes!

Let's create a JOURNAL BACKGROUND using SHIMMERZ COLORINGZ

I'm up on the Shimmerz blog with my first blogpost and video for the Shimmerz Education Team. I have started a new to me form of memory keeping for 2018 in my weekly vertical traveler's notebook insert from Midori. And I love it, I love spending a little time creating a colorful mixed media background before the week starts and I love using stickers, ephemera, practically everything that I can find around the house to decorate the weekly spread when I journal daily about my day! It is so much fun and doesn't take a lot of time out of my day so I have actually kept up with it so far! I hope that I can carry on way beyond the first excitement of January and share my spreads every week on Instagram using the Hashtag #seemownaysweek.

For this spread, I wanted to try the Blow Painting Technique with a straw! I remember doing this as a child and thought it would be fun to try out my new COLORINGZ and see how well the paper takes the mists. I wanted to create a rainbow effect, so I pulled out a piece of packaging as a palette and added the first color. I then took it up with a brush, added a colorful blob to the top of the page and then used my straw to move the color down the page. I actually turned my insert upside down to be able to control the paint better. Then I just went on, adding the different colors and mixing them along the way to get a bigger and more colorful palette.

After prepping the background, I went through my stickers and my ephemera and created a little kit to use throughout the week. Then each night when I sat on the couch I would pull out my traveler's notebook and quickly journal about my day, adding bits and pieces as I wrote. This photo shows the progress after the first days. Isn't the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson on the tea tag just perfect? I love it: "Earth laughs in flowers." I never paid any attention to the tags on my tea bags before and didn't even know they hid little treasures, but that day it fell into the hot water and so I had to get it out with a spoon. And there this beautiful quote was waiting for me. I dried it with my heat tool, remembered that I had just seen this beautiful die cut in my stash, pulled it out and stuck it right into my journal.

Whenever possible, I tried to match my stickers and ephemera to the rainbow background to intensify the rainbow effect! I absolutely love how this all turned out! Unfortunately, this was the week when I had to record my very first trip to the ER since moving here. Luckily, I'm back to walking at the moment and hoping that I can omit knee surgery. The accident happened on Friday night but as you can see, I'm not too strict when it comes to sticking to the given page design: I just add my journaling wherever I think it fits best into my own design.

After I was done with my journaling, there was still lots of empty space left at the bottom of the page, so I decided to add a quote that relates to GO, my word for the year 2018. I love collecting quotes and never know where to put them. Adding them here whenever and wherever possible, makes them more visible, which I love.

Here is another look at the finished page. It's so much fun to do, it doesn't require a lot of material and time. And the best part for me is that I am less intimidated to try different techniques. Often I am paralyzed by the size of bigger projects and don't even know where to start. Now that I have seen how easy it is to create such a fun rainbow background, I am thinking about trying it on a larger canvas. What do you think? Wouldn't this be fun as a a background for a 12x12 layout?

Here is a link to my process video on youtube. If you place an order in the Shimmerz Store, don't forget to mention my name Simone in the comments at checkout to receive a free mini surprise product! Thanks for stopping by today!

SUPPLIES:
Coloringz - Don't Citron Me, No Yoking, My Bleeding Heart, Pink Stilettos, Heidi Ho Blue, Well Blue Me Down

What is a CURRENTLY album? And why is it the perfect beginner's project!

In 2017 I started to record a list of "currentlies" in my Daisy Dori inserts from Cocoa Daisy and loved seeing how they changed or stayed the same every month. For 2018 I had the idea to use a 6x8 album for my currently lists, this would give me more options to play. I could do full page photos, full page lists, put my lists into pockets, leave it plain and simple and just have fun. I could be really artistic with colors and stamps or I could type it out on a typewriter or use my computer or just a plain old pen. Whatever the current mood, I could do.

I also wasn't afraid of adding yet another project to my ever growing list of projects because in the end, the only thing I really have to do for this particular one is write a list of things that I am currently ...

And this is where you come in! If you have been on the fence about this whole scrapbooking stuff and journaling also seems way too intimidating, I think this is the perfect project for you to get your feet wet. Depending on your preferences you can use a binder from the office supply store or a journal that you have in your stash. You can use a scrapbooking album or a traveler's notebook, this all depends on your personal preference. And then just start!

Here is a list of categories that you can record each month, I bet there are even more. Pick some or use all and get recording! January is the perfect time to start this project:

• wearing
• reading
• planning
• watching
• cooking
• eating
• crafting
• going
• loving
• dreaming
• feeling
• listening
• drinking

If you want to add photos I recommend you start by just focussing on one favorite thing per month and take a photo and print it. Stick it down and write what you love about this right now. On the next page add the rest of your current favorites for the month. And then come back the next month and do it again! See how easy this is? And see how you can be as artsy or crafty as you want to be?

As I told you above, this year I want to use a 6x8 album for this project. I have started with a title page yesterday and am sharing the creative process on youtube. I am so excited, this is going to be so much fun! I will be recording some other things in this album too but the only goal I have is to record one currently list each month. Everything else in that album is just the icing on the cake.

I hope I was able to inspire you today!

"Bärenweihnacht" - Stuck?! Sketches

I had so much fun working on Christmas-themed layouts during these past two months. And combining them with the amazing sketches from Laura was exactly the right amount of Christmas scrapbooking and left enough room to work on other non-Christmas projects. For this sketch of the January 15, 2018 challenge for Stuck?! Sketches I was able to try yet more new things.

If you watch the video that is linked down below, you can see me making some pretty rookie mistakes. That's why it was so hard to take a picture of the finished layout because it wouldn't lay flat. I stayed very close to the sketch and only changed minor details. During the past weeks I have been greatly inspired by Missy Whidden, so I had to use some mists and gold thread on my layout. But let me tell you, it looks much easier to make the perfect thread nests than it actually is. The thread would always untangle before I was able to stick it underneath a layer.

Here is a closeup of the labels and word strips that I piled upon the title. I felt something was needed to balance the layout and connect the top embellishment cluster with the title. Since I used the big star as a focal embellishment in the bottom cluster, I repeated the star theme along the stitched circle at the top left side.

And finally, here is a look at the right embellishment cluster that I changed after I filmed the video. I had found the deer after I considered the layout done. When taking off the other die cut, I accidentally ripped the star so I needed to add more layers in order to cover the mistake. To finish the layout I added some more splatters of the two Shimmerz mists that I had used: Coloringz - Chocolate Brownie and Vibez - Glorious Day. If you order from their website don't forget to mention my name in the comments to receive a surprise gift with your order.

Here is a link to my video on youtube where you can see how this layout came together. Please make sure to check out the Stuck?! Sketches blog and have a look at all the other layouts by the Design Team. We would love for you to play along and link your layout to the link up to win some lovely prizes!

Cocoa Daisy Memory Keeping Kits "Always" - January 2018

Hi there! Today I"m sharing a closer look at the January 2018 Memory Keeping Kits "Always". They are the perfect combination of love and winter and will help you get your memories onto beautiful paper and into your albums!


This is one of my most favorite cards of the Memory Keeping Pocket kit! The designs on the cards are so versatile. Several have beautiful quotes and sayings printed on them that you can easily use to make cards or tags and send some love notes to friends near and far.


This die cut from the Memory Keeping Kit is a great prompt to journal about your status quo! What are you currently doing, loving, watching, reading, feeling? Take photos of your everyday life and document where you are at "right now' - these snippets of life are always so great to look back at.

The next three photos show some of the different paper combinations that spoke to me while I was filming the unboxing video.


What do you think about this combination? A busy, colorful pattern, combined with a larger patterned and an almost solid?


Or what about this? It's very dramatic with those bold colors. But it would still work with a smaller pattern contrasting the larger hearts. Maybe it would even work on the awesome mixed media background! I love papers like this one: you don"t have to do the intimidating mixed media stuff, it"s already there!


Now last but not least this paper combination! I think this one with the bright yellows calling for Spring is my favorite of them all! What is yours?

Here is a link to my unboxing video, I would love for you to check it out! What are your plans for your kits? Did you see that there are still some Memory Keeping kits and pocket cards left in the store? Right now, I think I am going to start with one or two spreads in my Project Life 2016 album, I am still catching up and those cards and embellishments are just perfect. Then I would love to create another mini album, a bit different than last month's, more structured. I'd love to capture one highlight from each month of 2017 and create a "Best of 2017". How about you? Have you created a 2017 review layout yet? And then finally, if there are still papers and embellishments left, I might start another new project. Hahaha. As if I hadn't enough already! I would love to hear about your ideas and plans for the kits in the comments! Thanks so much for your time! I'll see you next month!

"Nikolaus" - Stuck?! Sketches

Happy New Year! I'm so excited for this new year to come! I'm going to start it off with yet another Christmas themed layout for Stuck?! Sketches. This sketch designed by Laura Whitaker was quite challenging for me.

But I'm happy that I persevered and tried anyway because I really like the way this layout turned out. I used gesso to prep the background paper and then went to town with mists creating this breathtaking look at the night sky. At the bottom I added a row of houses that I fussy cut from a patterned paper.

To bridge the gap between the title and the embellishment cluster, I added a strip of patterned paper and then fussy cut the trees from a 6x6 cut apart sheet. I really love the whimsical touch this adds to my layout.

To tie the bottom part of the layout in with the night sky I later added mist splatters and puffy stars. Here is a link to my video on youtube where you can see how this layout came together. Please make sure to check out the Stuck?! Sketches blog and have a look at all the other layouts by the Design Team. We would love for you to play along and link your layout to the link up to win some lovely prizes!

Top 10 Blog Hop - my favorite traveler's notebook spreads of 2017

I am participating in the Top 10 Blog Hop today. And I thought that I would look back at my journaling in 2017 and share some of my favorite spreads. If you are interested in a review of my scrapbooking layouts, there is also a Top 10 Youtube Hop taking place today. In case you got lost on your way, your last stop was Ashley"s blog.

At the end of last year, I had the idea to replace Project Life with monthly journals. I received the Cocoa Daisy standard Daisy Dori traveler's notebook inserts every month and thought that bringing it down to a smaller scale would be much easier to do. So I started with the January Journal and really enjoyed working in it. The first half I filled with lots of intentions and goals for 2017, the second with all of our January memories. I used lots of small 2x2 photos on my spreads and also chose one specific stamp set that I used throughout the month. Here is the video for this spread: Journal with me #03.

In February I was more adventurous and started to look at the whole double spread instead of treating it like a book with left and right pages. Again, I created a kit from the Cocoa Daisy Planner kit and added in a stamp set and different papers and stickers. I quickly realized that I wouldn't be able to finish the monthly journals in one month. I was way too precise, too (I don't even have a word for it) uneasy to just journal as I go. What if I had too little stories and the book wouldn't fill up? What if I spread out too much in the beginning of the month and the book wouldn't last? When I started I thought, I wouldn't get hung up on those questions, but I was sliding right into this very narrow frame of mind. Here is the video for this spread: Journal with me #08.

Come April I was already one month behind in my monthly journals and was just starting on March. Here is one of my March spreads. I'm still using one alpha stamp set for the insert. It is such an easy way to make a whole insert look cohesive. I also start to incorporate more and more ephemera. Here is the video for this spread: Journal with me #11.

In May I participated in Doris Sanders' #CDjournaleverydayinmay challenge. This meant, I completely skipped April and started on May 1 with the May journal. This was such a great feeling "being caught up", journaling on something that just happened. And also having a prompt to write about. It meant narrowing it down to one story or journal entry per day. Something that I really struggled with in the previous month, where I was way too detailed. I took the journal with me to my sons' Baseball game and it was a very successful journaling month for me.

June was going to be different: we would have visitors from Germany, summer break and no daily plans. So I decided to not use a separate planner and "plan" in my monthly journal. This lead to weekly spreads like the one in the photo. I really enjoyed doing these, so I decided to incorporate them into my journals. However, I quickly fell back on the journaling again.

In July I started getting back to scrapbooking more and enjoying branching out more. This meant, that I wasn't able to spend my free time exclusively on my journaling and that's when it all started going downhill. Not in a bad way, more in a slow process of realizing that this monthly journaling project might not be the right fit for me. I finished the July Daisy Dori in August again being "behind". Here is the video for this spread: Journal with me #18.

In August, I really really enjoyed the weekly spreads but dreaded the rest of the journaling. This is the first insert that I haven't finished to date. Because I decided instead of falling further and further behind I would be ok with what I have when the new month starts and maybe come back to it later. That's when I rediscovered my Project Life Journal from 2016. It is a small lined journal where I simply noted prompts for the Project Life spreads each week to spark my memory. It was a great help for Project Life and why couldn't this help with my journaling as well? I wrote down the stories I wanted to write about at a later date and also sketched out the pages, chose photos, printed them and preplanned the journal.

In September I followed some prompts from the Cocoa Daisy Planner Challenge and did my weekly spreads in my journal. I also followed the same concept as in August: preplanned the pages in my Project Life notebook and moved on once October came around. Here is the video for this spread: Journal with me #22.

Then October came around and I was traveling in the beginning of the month. So I decided to use my journal as a travel journal and tell one story per day. I set up my journal in advance giving each day one page. If I had more to tell I would need to use tip ins. This new approach has helped me tremendously: I haven't finished any of the journals yet, but for me limiting the space and the story (one story per day) was actually the thing I needed. I allowed myself to tell a story in a short sentence, to let go of all the other little details. And I also started printing my pictures in a larger format thus taking up more space thus filling up a journal a lot quicker. Here is the video for this spread: Journal with me #23.

Since the October layout was such a revelation to my journaling, I kept on going the same way. I journaled when I had time. I made sure to pick a story and photo for each day, took note of it in my Project Life notebook, made sure I printed the pictures frequently. When I had two stories for one day, I just moved one of them to a day where I didn't really have a story to tell. Since I make the rules I can bend them as much as I want. Here is the video for this spread: Journal with me #25.

Then December came. And I again decided to change it a little: instead of using a standard Daisy Dori from Cocoa Daisy, I created a junk journal and used this as my journal. The rest of the setup stayed the same: one story per day. Since some of the pages are a little busy, I gave more space on some days, but the general idea still stayed the same. And again: I am taking notes, choosing and printing photos as the month progresses and journaling as much as I can. Here is the video for this spread: Journal with me #27.

So what am I going to do with all those unfinished journals? And am I continuing with this project in 2018? Yes. I am going to continue with my 2017 journals in 2018. I have my journals ready to go, I have all of my little kits that I created while working on the journals ready to go. Instead of continuing in the same way in 2018, I'm hoping to complete my 2017 journals. However, I do want to memory keep in 2018, I already have some ideas and I'm going to share those in January on my blog and youtube channel.

Your next stop on this hop is Shelly. And here is a list of all the participants.

Christine Meyer

Kathy Skou

Kathleen Graumüller

Teri Anderson

Susie Bentz

Janice Daquila-Pardo

Giorgia Rossini

Laurel Seabrook  

Aimee Kidd

Mary Ann Jenkins

Keren Tamir

Lee-Anne Thornton

Heather Leopard

Tifany DeGough  

Sue Eldred

Melissa Elsner

Laura Whitaker

Anita Mulcahey

Ashley Smith

Simone Schermann

Shelly Kurth

Monique Liedtke
Suzanna Lee

Marcia Dehn-Nix  

Laura Cox

Irit Shalom

Nicole Martel

Carolyn Johnson

Tenia Nelson

Samantha Taylor  

Rebecca Keppel

Judy Hayes

Isha Gupta

Traci Penrod

Tracy McLennon

Karen Hunter

Lyne Blodgett

Anna Sigga

Lisa Moen
Kat Benjamin
Wendy Antenucci  

"Christmas 2010" - Stuck?! Sketches

Is it unoriginal to start a blogpost the same way I want to start every post for Stuck?! Sketches? But the truth is: those posts make me realize how quickly time flies. Yes, it is already the 15th of December. Can you believe it? I definitely cannot! As I said in my last post, I decided to use the December sketches that Laura Whitaker created for Stuck?! Sketches and create my very first Christmas layouts. Don't you think that the triangular shape in the background just calls for a Christmas Tree?

And this is exactly what I did. For my background I chose a woodgrain paper that I received in a Cocoa Daisy kit, then I drew a triangle that I cut out and backed with a green patterned paper. To be able to use watercolor on top of the papers I primed the paper with gesso, then added watercolor and stitched around the whole shebang. The photos and layers behind the photo cluster are on the lighter side. The exclusive Cocoa Daisy vellum was just too pretty. Then I decorated the tree with Christmas ornaments that I fussy cut from last year's Cocoa Daisy Planner kits. Since this is a companion page to the layout that I created for the December 01 sketch, I didn't need any more journaling.

Here is a closeup of the Christmas Tree and the decoration. I simply fussy cut the ornaments from the paper then arranged them on the tree so that they pleased my eye. Then I went back in later with enamel dots and puffy stars and filled in the gaps. I really love how it turned out. Especially so, since the colors of the ornaments aren't your typical scrapbooking colors.

As I wrote above, I went a bit lighter on the layers behind the photo cluster. I didn't want to cover up the tree with too many layers. I love how the vellum picks up all the different colors in the layout and combines them. To give the photos a more cohesive look I backed them all with the same patterned paper, fittingly a black and white paper with ornaments from the Pinkfresh Studio "December Days" collection.

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

Here is the process video where I show you how this layout came together.

Making charms for your planner from clips!

When the December Cocoa Daisy Planner kits arrived I decided to dissect the pretty planner clips and turn them into charms. Unfortunately, I'm not much of a clip person, so I needed to find another use for them. I didn't want these pretties to just sit in my box but get a different use out of them.

Here is the charm made from the beautiful bow clip. I gently opened the faux leather band that held the bow together, took out the paper clip, added a jump ring instead and used E6000 glue to glue it all back together. In this photo you can see the "multi-charm attacher", this is two lobster clamps attached together with a jump ring. This way you can swap out the charm easily and only need two clamps.

I also made a charm from the fluffy snowball clip. I took out the paper clip which was attached to the snowball using hot glue. The hot glue didn't come off easily, so I left it in and punched a hole in there. This way I was able to attach a ring and done.

This is my third (or fourth) charm made from the puffy clip toppers. And I love these kinds of charms.

Finally, the last one. This is the charm I am using on my planner right now. Carefully peeled off the attached clip, punched a hole at the top right corner, added a ring and then added some string. I since swapped out the string for the "multi charm attacher" that you can see in the close up photo of the bow charm.

I filmed my whole process of transforming the clips into charms however something went wrong when I transferred the video clip onto my computer and it got stuck half way through. Here is the failed video, I tried to explain it a bit more detailed than in this post.