Sketches In Thyme Design Team Reveal - November

Hi everyone!  WHERE has this year GONE???!!!  It's already Black Friday!!!  Hope your Thanksgiving Day was wonderful!

Today I'm sharing Sketches In Thyme Sketch #302 by Brenda Ragsdale.  Here's the sketch -

And here's my version of this fun sketch -

Our dog Baxter was not very happy when we came home with a kitten!  These are the pictures of when they first met just minutes after we brought Jeff the Kitty home. And I had great fun with these pictures on this sketch!  That's my husband "introducing" them to each other!  Jeff is now 13 1/2 pounds and 13 months old!!!  We think he's part Norwegian Forest Cat!
Materials – Sketch – Brenda Ragsdale; Cardstock – Bazzill; Patterned Paper – My Mind’s Eye; Circle Cutter – Kreaxions; Hexagon Punch – Creative Memories; Pens – Infinity, Sharpie; Letter Stickers – Echo Park

If you want to play along and possibly win a prize, go to the Sketches In Thyme Blog and post your version of this sketch by Midnight on November 30th.

Happy Scrapping and happy start  to the holiday season!  It's my all time favorite time of the year!!!

Creative Inspiration November 3 Friday Inspiration Challenge

To inspire you today I’ve chosen a layout by Elisa Ablett. I absolutely LOVE her use of mixed media on her layouts and yet in every instance her photos are the focus of the project. I especially loved this particular layout because it’s a masculine one and the colors are amazing! Here's the layout and tutorial by Elisa that I based my own page on...

Boys Rule by Elisa Ablett
Here's the link to her blog post about this layout - Elisa Ablett Designs

For the full tutorial, either go to her blog post or to the Creative Inspirations November 3 Friday Inspiration post by me.
Technique and Product Showcase - To keep with my circular theme on my layout I wanted to show you how I created my grungy background!

Step One - I used Colour Blast Colour Sprays in Caribbean and Lagoon to lay down a small oval of colour in the top right hand corner where my photo would fit over and also a small area on the bottom left hand side of my layout where my corresponding cluster will go.

Step 2 - Using the circular template spray colour sprays directly onto the template instead of your page! then quickly turn it over and press firmly onto your layout, you are essentially using your template as a stamp. Mop up the excess spray from your craft mat with your chosen chipboard, i used a couple of grungy pieces from Memory Maze Chipboard.

Step 3 - once that has dried, spray and splatter a small amount of Roadbase colour spray onto the layout around your two areas of colour.

Step 4 - Ink up your darkroom door stamp with Black archival ink - i use versafine ink as it gives a lovely crisp stamping image. Stamp in a cross circular pattern around your colour area as shown in both photos.

Step 5 - once dry - using a small dots stencil add small amounts of Colour Blast Bling Paste to your layout over the top of your stamped image, once dry you are now ready to layer your photo and embellishments!

Now it's time for my version. I didn’t have exactly the same inks, etc. that she has so I made do with what I had.

This is a picture of my husband on the ferry as we left Ketchikan on our way to our island at last. We’d waited 10 years for this and it was a very important time for us. Plus it’s a gorgeous trip through Clarence Strait!
Materials – Based on a LO by Elisa Ablett; Cardstock – Bazzill; Glimmer Mists – Tattered Angels; Chipboard – Maya Road, Unknown; Stencil – Heidi Swapp; Crackle Paint – Ranger; Pen – Sharpie; Buttons, Chipboard Letters – Unknown; Circle Cutter – Kreaxions