Inspiration Elevator

I was asked to return to celebrate Inspiration Elevator retiring. Of course I said yes! It was an honour to be a small part of such a creative group of ladies and I am happy to share one last time with them.

After some thought and consideration, the time has come to retire Inspiration Elevator. But before we go, we need to hold a big retirement party, so we've invited everyone who's been involved with Inspiration Elevator back for one last reveal, and to our delight most were able to accept! We are so delighted to have so many IE alumni along this month! Thank you to each of you for helping us end our elevator ride with so much fun and creative energy!
 
This month's challenge is posed by one of IE's co-creators and team admin, Ann.
This month's challenge is simple, but I hope, challenging as well. 
Here's the challenge: Inspiration Elevator launched on May 15, 2012 and at that time, we explained our purpose as, "Welcome to Inspiration Elevator! What a thrilling day! Today is the launch of Inspiration Elevator (IE), a challenge blog created by my dear friend Christa Uttley and me. We chose the name Inspiration Elevator because it is our intent to raise our creativity to heights through challenges issued every month. We want to raise our designs from the ordinary to the extraordinary. We hope you'll join us on our journey!

IE is a group of like minded scrappy friends who want to raise the bar in their own creative process through unique challenges that we issue to each other once a month. These won't be run of the mill challenges and we hope you'll join us each month and be inspired by the creative designs we've created." 
That vision has remained unchanged over the last (almost) 3 years. The challenge this month is to just create - no holds barred. Take some time, or challenge yourself to do it in 1/2 hour if time is tight, but think about what you'd like to create if there were no agenda, no design team requirement. In other words, create for you, and enjoy the process!

When given this challenge I thought there was no better way to say good bye to IE than to scrapbook a layout of a weekend spent crafting with friends. I love the "Hello Today" collection from Kaisercraft as it is ideal for everyday moments.

 

 I decided to use a couple of my favourite things on my layout:

wood veneer, a neutral colour palette, and my Dymo labeller.

This little speech bubble that says

"be in love with your life, every minute of it"

 pretty much sums up why I scrapbook.

 I want to remember the moments, big and small, of my life. 

 

We hope you'll take the time to hop through and visit each of our participant's blogs, beginning with our guests, then our current team, and finishing off with our co-founders. Feel free to leave comments and lavish each one with appreciation for all that they each brought to the Inspiration Elevator challenge over the last 3 years!

Audrey Yeager

Christy Riopel

Denise Morrison

Jodi Wilton

Laura Whitaker

Laurel Seabrook

Shelby Dwyer

Jayne Morgan

Joanne Burton

Katherine Sutton

Lisa Moen

Lisa Spiegel

Michelle Hernandez

Wendi Robinson

Christa Uttley

Ann Jobes

 

Thank you for stopping by and enjoy our hop!

Stick it Down 2015

Looking for some inspiration to get 2015 off to a scrappy start? 

Check us out over on the SID blog

http://stickitdown.blogspot.ca/2015/01/january-sketch-challenge.html?m=1

Stick it Down Design Team Call

Tuesday Sketch Challenge and a DT Call!

We are looking to add some talented ladies to our teams for our next term running July - Dec 2014.

We are also looking for sketch designers for our single page and card teams.

How do you apply?

You apply by playing along with the challenge below.  All you do is pick your favourite sketch and link up with us by May 26, 2014 at 8PM EST.

You will need to have the following:

1. an active blog

2. a facebook account (this is where the DT chats)

3. the time to comment on all submissions for your reveal

Anyone is welcome to apply! Please mention the DT call in your post and make sure you link back to us!
Good luck!

Now onto our challenge!

This is the first time there has been a fifth Tuesday since the beginning of our challenge blog. As such, we have a really fun challenge for you this week!

We are asking you to go back and pick the sketch that you wanted to play along with and ran out of time or life just got in the way of your scrappy time!

Find all you need HERE

Inspiration Elevator~Guest Designer!

 May is here! Hopefully it means more sunshine and warmer weather.  More daylight hours means more time for me to be creative too! And at Inspiration Elevator, it means the start of our 3rd year as a challenge group - how exciting is that!!

We are beginning a new season of Inspiration Elevator, with some new designers, familiar faces and amazing challenges. Our main purpose here at IE is to challenge ourselves, each other and YOU to take the creative process to the next level;  to inspire growth and change in our scrapbooking beyond the mundane.
You can see all of Inspiration Elevator's previous challenges at our blog and catch us on Facebook and Instagram (soon!) too.

This month we welcome Shelby Dwyer (that's me!) to join us as a Guest Designer. Shelby is a very talented scrapbooker who is famous for her creations at Two Scrapbook Friends where she creates kits and other inspiration for the very busy store. We are so thrilled to have her joining us! ( I am thrilled to be here!)
This month's challenge is issued by the innovative Joanne Burton. Joanne's style is classically elegant blended with a touch of current trends, and garnished with her signature love for buttons. Here is her challenge for us, in her own words:

"Currently. That is the topic for our next challenge!
Social media and digital cameras inspire us and make it easy to capture the everyday and that is the reason for my challenge. It used to be that pictures were only taken of special events or during vacations. Now, photos are taken all the time. Whether or not we agree with the number of photos that people take now, it is fun to document an ordinary day. It is interesting to capture a moment in time and I am sure we will enjoy looking back on it someday.
So, I want you to pick a day, grab your camera and take a few pictures of your surroundings. I want you to document what you are currently: Eating, Reading, Loving, Wearing, Listening, and Hoping. I would like you to include the date on your design, the complete list and at least one photo. Otherwise, make it your own and have fun!"

As a guest of IE I really wanted to embrace their philosophy of stepping outside my comfort zone. I wanted to create something completely different than anything I had done before. I loved the challenge Joanne gave us as I am a big fan of chronicalling the every day. I chose my day, May the fourth, mainly because I was taken with the thought of including my son's Star Wars pyjamas on my layout!

   I approached my day by snapping everything in sight (pretty much what I do every day!) so I would have lots to choose from. In the end that made it super difficult to narrow them down and I used 8 photos on the finished product.

There are many reasons this layout is different than my 'norm' one of which is the serious lack of pattern paper. I used a sheet for my background and a card for my 'title' but other than that it's mainly cardstock and embellishments. Oh and LOTS AND LOTS of Silhouette sketch pens!

I used the 'Plus One' collection from Amy Tangerine, again not something I would traditionally go for but the fun and bright colours grabbed me.

I do love pink however, in a house full of boys, I rarely use it so I decided to use my new running shoes as inspiration for the colour scheme and matted all my pics in bright pink! 

I ended up including so many pics that there wasn't much room left for the complete list so I decided to underline each word in my journaling to honour that part of the challenge. I am LOVING flair buttons and the fact that so many companies are carrying them makes me happy :) 

 In case you were wondering I DID put the pyjamas and the date on there too..

 

I added some washi from my ever-growing stash, a few sequins and a sticker from Simple Stories that pretty much summed up my whole day.

 

 Thanks so much for the invite ladies and allowing me to delight in the everyday!

Here's a complete list of this month's participating designers, including some new faces! Please welcome Jayne Morgan, Katherine Sutton and Wendi Robinson as regular creators.  We sure are lucky to have them creating and challenging us this year! We encourage you to check out each designer's creation this month, then come on back and give the challenge a try yourself!

Joanne Burton
Jayne Morgan
Wendi Robinson

Katherine Sutton
Lisa Spiegel
Ann Jobes 

Shelby Dwyer - Guest Designer (you are here!)

I hope you feel inspired to play along with our challenge this month.  When you do, please share it using the linky tool on our Inspiration Elevator Blog and/or our Inspiration Elevator Facebook page.

We would LOVE to see what you made!

We would also like to say goodbye and a heartfelt thanks to those leaving us this month: Laurel Seabrook, Cathy Harper and Laura Whitaker. We have been inspired by your challenges and your designs.

Two Scrapbook Friends National Scrapbook Day Blog Hop!

 

Welcome to the Two Scrapbook Friends National Scrapbook Day Blog Hop! You should have arrived here from Christa's blog. I am sure she inspired you with her fabulous use of patterned paper!

My letter is 'Y' and my technique/element is Y-our favourite embellishment.  This was an absolute no-brainer for me, it had to be wood veneer shapes. You see I have amassed quite the collection over the last few years and I don't seem to be slowing down at all.  I love wood veneer for its versatility; ink it, paint it, mist it or leave it plain. No matter how you use it, wood always works!

Here's a peek at my collection

For my layout I used wood veneer from Studio Calico, Freckled Fawn and

a big arrow from Basic Grey. I love how so many companies have jumped on this trend.

 

Carolyn and I enjoy this 'Happy Moment' often throughout the summer.

 Here's my ode to Dollar Drink Days at McDonald's.

 I used my Silhouette to cut out the 'happy moment' mat and layered it over some great new papers from the 'Americana' collection by Pebbles. I LOVE that white washed WOODgrain background!

The polaroid and 'smile' sticker are from Simple Stories and the 'favorites' banner is from a Queen & Co travel paper. It's always fun to pull bits and pieces from different manufactuers together.

 

I hope you've had a wonderful time hopping around and feel inspired to create some of your own SCRAPPY projects! Just remember to leave a comment on each blog as you go. This way you will qualify to be in a draw for a fabulous Blog Hop prize.

   Amanda

Jayne 

Tracey
Joanne
  Carolyn
Christa
  Shelby (You are here)

Sketch challenge

Looking for some fun challenges? Check this out
Stick it Down

It's March 1st which means it's time for another Sketch/Craft challenge. I know many of us have been hibernating from this long, cold winter and can't wait for Spring BUT it also means more time spent indoors creating.

For those of you in warmer climates...I AM SO JEALOUS!!!

 

Here is this month's sketch:

 

 

The crafty part of this challenge is to use at least one 'natural' material on your layout. This could be: wood, linen, cork, burlap etc.

Woodgrain paper does not qualify although I did use some on my layout!

 

Here is my creation:

I used some papers from Amy Tangerine's Cut&Paste collection and

a woodgrain paper from Pebbles.

 

 I added some linen banners from Maya Road

 

 Some burlap (we sell sheets in the store) and wood embellies

from Basic Grey and Studio Calico

 

 I also used some cream jute twine as my 'banner' string

 then wrapped some around the heart on the paper.

 

 

To qualify for the gift certificate from Two Scrapbook Friends please remember that your creation must not only represent the sketch but it must also have the 'crafty element' included.

 

We are really looking forward to seeing all the different creations that our scrapbook friends come up with. Everyone interprets the challenge in their own unique way.

 

In order to qualify, we just have a few simple rules:

1. Create as many NEW projects as you like for each challenge! Each creation will gain you an entry in the draw to win. (Please enter a double page layout as only one entry.)

2. Projects must be linked up using the tool below to be entered to win.

3. Projects must be entered no later than March 31, 2014 by 11:59pm

You can go HERE to link up with the post!

Reason #163 why I love my Silhouette

I love my Cameo. I am not a card maker but I often need cards so I turn to my trusty machine to do most of the work for me. Holden is going to a video game birthday party this weekend. I grabbed this image from the online store, mirror image copied it, welded and voila...a card! I used my sketch pens to do all the text which is one of my favourite features of this amazing machine! Then I used the envelope punch board to create a custom size envelope and I was done.

I think I will be making a bunch of these for all the boy birthdays this year!

Crafty challenge at TSF

It's time for our first challenge of 2014! I was cropping recently and I went back to something I used to do a lot and then veered away from..distressing. I had this great paper from 'Chic Tags' that had what looked like coffee cup stains on it. I love when the paper does the 'work' for you!

Here is what I came up with:

 

I added to the stains by spritzing a bit of brown mist and lots of  'vintage photo' distress ink around the edges of the background. This colour is by far my favourite ink to use and I reach for it often.

 



 

I crumpled and ripped strips of paper that fit the distressed feel of the layout and layered them up as a backdrop for one of my favourite pics. I used canvas letters, jute twine and wooden bits that I inked with vintage photo again. I love how all the different textures add to the outdoorsy theme.

 

SO for this month's challenge let's see lots of distressing!

 

You could win $25 to use at the store or online.

Just remember a couple of rules:

1. Create as many NEW projects as you like for each challenge! Each creation will gain you an entry in the draw to win. (Please enter a double page layout as only one entry.)
2. Projects can either be uploaded to the TSF gallery or linked up using the tool on the TSF blog post to be entered to win.
3. Projects must be entered no later than January 31st at 11:59pm.

Let it snow...

So anyone in my area knows that it is snowing like mad outside so I thought I would share with you a layout I created when I was away a couple of weeks ago.

I am really in LOVE with these jillibean placemats. They are a lot of fun to work with and come in several different designs. I knew I wanted to use the circle one as soon as I saw this collection from Bazzill called 'Nordic Pines'

 I cut circles from various papers to fit behind the placemat. I strategically placed my title so I could use one of the circles as my 'o' in snow. I used glitter cardstock from Best Creation in white and red. This is THE BEST glitter cardstock as it has been treated so the glitter doesn't come off. It also cuts like butter on the Silhouette Cameo, just use the glitter cardstock setting and adjust your blade depth accordingly. Do you see how tiny and intricate the 'let it' part of my title is???

AWESOME machine!

 I love me some twine so I added 3 coordinating colours around my photo and tucked an acrylic snowflake underneath. I used up some wood veneer snowflakes and trees from my ever-growing hoard of wood embellishments. I also used some itty bitty maya road tickets and one Tim Holtz ticket, they complimented my colour scheme and hey, they are just cute!

When I was happy with my design I backed it with black cardstock to pop all the red.

This collection is so fun to work with and I adore the black, kraft, red combo. I cannot wait to take more snowy pics and play some more!!

I am so thrilled to be part of a new challenge blog called "Stick it Down" or SID for short. I will be designing double page sketches which I can't wait to share with everyone. Sketches have become a great tool for so many scrapbookers and I have to say I LOVE designing them.
Here's a bit about us:

We are a multi-challenge blog. There will be a new challenge posted each Tuesday.

1st Tuesday: Single page layouts based on the sketch.
2nd Tuesday: Card based on the sketch
3rd Tuesday: Single page layouts based on the sketch
4th Tuesday: Double page layout based on the sketch
5th Tuesday: Anything goes

There will be a random draw for a monthly prize. We will also be offering the chance to be a guest designer in future challenges.
We will be doing a little sneaky peek December 16 before we gear up in the new year. I hope you will take a moment to come and check us out here

Welcome to the Songs of Christmas Blog Hop with Two Scrapbook Friends! You should have arrived here from the Two Scrapbook Friends blog.

Our Blog Hop is all about the Songs of Christmas and the inspiration for my project comes from the song "Joy to the World"

Of course we all find joy in scrapbooking so it wasn't much of a stretch to use this as my song! I will let you all know that I rarely scrapbook Christmas photos. I find that all my photos look chaotic, have awful lighting and are usually pretty terrible. When TSF received the 'Countdown to Christmas' collection from Bazzill I was, however, inspired to root through the few photos I have to make it work. I was actually so inspired that I created not one but TWO layouts using this line.

For my first layout I cut the word 'joy' out of the background and backed it with some green cardstock which made an easy title. I went for whimsy by looping some floss around the photo and added numbers punched from another sheet. It's a fairly simple layout to showcase my boys, who are indeed my 'JOY'

 For my second layout I used some embossed cardstock as my backgroud. It's hard to tell but it has little, raised dots all over. I added stitching, sequins and handcut stars to complete this layout. The journaling tells the story of how Holden wanted to bring treats to his class.

In a sense, bringing 'JOY' to others.

I hope you will be inspired by my creations and those of our other fabulous bloggers:

So remember, in order to be entered to win the special prize all you have to do is hop from Blog to Blog and leave a comment on each as you go. Then simply check back at the Two Scrapbook Friends blog on December 10th to see if you are the lucky winner!

Here are the featured blogs in our Blog Hop:

Your next blog will be: Joanne's.  Have fun hopping!

Shelby-You are here ;)

Joanne

Tracy

Jayne

Darcy

Jodi

Amanda

Christa

Audrey

Janice

Ann

Carolyn

TSF

***************************************************************************************

It's time again for another sketch challenge. These have quickly turned into my favourite kind of challenge so I hope you will play along. I had a chance to do some creating at our Fall Retreat in October and came up with this sketch for you:

And this is the layout that inspired the sketch:

I used some bits and pieces from Maya Road, Studio Calico, Echo Park and these great little tags from 'Chic Tags'.

I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with this month. We have had great participation and it is so much fun to see what everyone creates. Plus, you will be entered into a random draw to win a $25 gift card for our store.
Just remember a couple of rules:
1. Create as many NEW projects as you like for each challenge! Each creation will gain you an entry in the draw to win. (Please enter a double page layout as only one entry.)
2. Projects can either be uploaded to the forum and gallery then linked to the TSF homepage
3. Projects must be entered no later than December 15th at 11:59pm. Have fun creating :)

Look I'm a guest designer...

I was asked by my friend Darcy if I would guest on the 'Life in Details' challenge blog. They are a challenge blog that focuses on the divided page protectors or 'Project Life' style of scrapbooking. I am fairly new to this style but have been working away on my travel album using this style and I am REALLY loving it.
You can check it out here

Around the World Online crop with Two Scrapbook Friends

Are you ready to hop on a plane to somewhere exotic?? Ya, me too BUT for now you will have to settle for your scrapbooking desk! For my challenge I am asking you to create a project that has at least 3 arrows on it. I am very directionally challenged (read: GPS was invented for me) so I am always happy to come upon an arrow pointing me the correct way!

For my sample I added another layout to my travel album. I have been using the divided sleeves and I love this way of scrapbooking, especially for events with lots of pics. It is, however, a very difficult thing to photograph so I apologize for the less than fabulous pics!

 Here it is:

I am using several different collections from Simple Stories within my travel album, I love how they work so well together. I also decided to add some travel quotes and facts about each place I travel to.

 I used my Silhouette sketch pen to do all the writing, I will NEVER handwrite again!!

So, does that sound easy enough?? I hope you will play along!

Here are the facts:

1. Must feature a layout/card/altered item with a minimum of 3 arrows.
2. Must be created brand new for this crop (no recycling). Our Designers and Joanne & Carolyn (the Two Scrapbook Friends) are all issuing creative World inspired challenges to get your creativity going! There will also be games to play and prizes to be won.

Want to know more? Here are some of the specifics!

1. Each Design Team Member and the TSF are issuing an inspiring and creative World/Travel based challenge along with a great example.  The challenges will be posted in the Forum and on the TSF blog.

2. Once you have completed a challenge, upload a photo of your creation to our Layout Gallery or use the LINKY tool at the bottom of the TSF blog post (ALL LAYOUTS MUST BE CREATED JUST FOR THIS CROP to qualify for prizes).  Each project will count towards only ONE challenge. Be sure to upload no later than September 29th at 11:59 pm.

3. Now for the best part.........PRIZES!!!!!!!! There are three prizes to be won:

• A random draw for participation
• A random draw for completing all challenges
• A favorite overall winner voted on by DT and TSF.

The winners will be posted no later than October 1st on the blog and in the forum.

Around the World online crop!

Please join us at Two Scrapbook Friends forum and blog to be inspired and connect with other scrappers at our Around The World Online Crop September 20th at 3pm!

Our Designers and Joanne & Carolyn (the Two Scrapbook Friends) will be issuing creative World inspired challenges to get your creativity going! There will also be games to play and prizes to be won.

Want to know more? Here are some of the specifics!

1. Each Design Team Member and the TSF will issue an inspiring and creative World/Travel based challenge along with a great example.  The challenges will be posted in the Forum and on the TSF blog.

2. Once you have completed a challenge, upload a photo of your creation to our Layout Gallery or use the LINKY tool at the bottom of our blog post (ALL LAYOUTS MUST BE CREATED JUST FOR THIS CROP to qualify for prizes).  Each project will count towards only ONE challenge. Be sure to upload no later than September 29th at 11:59 pm.

3. Now for the best part.........PRIZES!!!!!!!! There are three prizes to be won:

• A random draw for participation
• A random draw for completing all challenges
• A favorite overall winner voted on by DT and TSF.

The winners will be posted no later than October 1st on the blog and in the forum.

I hope you will join us and be inspired, we look forward to seeing your creations!  Check back on the Two Scrapbook Friends blog and forum on Friday, September 20th to see all the challenges and inspiration from our Design Team.

Two Scrapbook Friends: It's All About You!

I'm hosting the September Crafty Challenge over at Two Scrapbook Friends and I hope that you will play along!  It's an easy one, it's all about you!

 

 



I'm linking this up with:
Red Carpet Studio - Anything Goes!
Get Creative - Anything Goes!

TSF sketch challenge

Have you seen our Facebook challenges over on the TSF BLOG Simply create, link up and you can win a $25 gift certificate to the store!

Christa posted this month's challenge and I was inspired to play along.

Here is her sketch

And my take on it

I used some papers from the Simple Stories 'I heart summer' collection along with a few from my stash. Great sketch Christa!

Progressive Blog Hop - Full Reveal!

Hopefully by now you have had a chance to hop around all the DT blogs to get a feel for what a progressive blog hop is. We all started with Joanne's fabulous sketch:

Then as you hopped along you found out what all the other designers added to our little mixing pot.
I added striped paper, Jayne added something wet like mist, paint etc, Christa added stitching, Carolyn asked us to distress our layout somehow, Ann asked us to add a quote and Amanda asked us to complete our layouts with 3 buttons.

And here is my final layout:

 

I distressed with ink and tearing around my edges for Carolyn's addition.

You can also see the red Mr. Huey's mist I splattered around to comply with Jayne's challenge

 

In this close up you can see the teensy buttons I used to fulfill Amanda's requirement.

 

Here is my striped paper with the stitching Christa asked for

 

And lastly here is the quote for Ann's challenge.

 

This was such a fun and challenging way to complete a layout!

I used Simple Stories for most of this layout, the background

paper is from the Basic Grey 'Hipster' collection.

 

I hope you enjoyed the TSF Hop and get a chance to play along!