Bonding

Good morning and happy Sunday, ladies and gents! 

Did I ever mention how much I love non-working Saturday? Waking up on these Saturdays, with simple breakfast and some crafty inspiration, pure bliss. I love to watch Tracy's process video, they are quite addictive (LOL) and a great way to kick start my crafty side. I watched this yesterday, and then I have this sudden urge to make pretty layouts! 

As usual, I browsed through all the challenges that I've bookmarked. Quite a number of simple and easy-to-follow sketches, and then there's one that caught my eyes, cause I told myself, that is one crazy sketch! Crazy, because that's not my usual style. But then, I thought of the word 'challenge' and decided I really should get out of my comfort zone. And with the Sizzlin' Summer '14 Sketch 03 by Scrapbook Challenges, I started gathering supplies and a lot of patterned papers for the very challenging background.

I did not take photo of my background cluster with my camera, but I just posted the one I took with my phone, so drop by my Instagram to check it out. That background cluster took me 45 minutes to assemble, and I used a lot of patterned papers, washi tapes and some border stickers. 

The rest of the process, adding the photo, title and embellishments probably took another 30 to 40 minutes. The end result, a happy looking layout. 

I would love to add stitching on the background, but I do not have a sewing machine, and hand stitching them would probably take forever, so I just gave up on that idea. I really love the look of machine stitch on layouts though.

I love the contrast between the colorful elements and the black elements, and I added the black clouds and trees transparencies on the top and bottom corners to make the layout pops.

My nephews and niece's initial. Love these apple wooden tokens that my sis bought for me.

These embellishments are from OhDeerMe June kit by Freckled Fawn. Thinking of getting their August kit too, cause it looks awesome!

And lastly, some close ups of the background cluster.

I'm really glad I took on this challenge. Even though it is quite time consuming because of the complicated background cluster, but it's a really great way to put together a lot of patterned papers and different elements on a layout. Will I try this sketch again? Definitely yes! 

Thank you for stopping by, and any comments are appreciated. If you like my layouts, do follow my blog and Instagram. Have a great day!

Supplies (Patterned Papers)

• On the Edge from Cut & Paste Collection by Amy Tangerine
• Directions from Enjoy the Ride Collection by Echo Park
• Project Life Honey Edition 12x12 Double Sided Designer Papers by Becky Higgins
• Banners and Stamped from Love Me Collection by My Mind's Eye
• Limitless, North Star, Tiny Love, Today and Vellum by Studio Calico

Supplies (Washi Tapes)

• Label Washi from OhDeerMe June Kit by Freckled Fawn
• Chalkboard Arrow, Orange Polka Dot with Hearts and Scattered Red Polka Washi by Freckled Fawn

Supplies (Border Stickers)

• Enjoy the Ride Sticker Accent Pieces by Echo Park
• Various paper and fabric border stickers by Heidi Grace Designs

Supplies (Letters)

• Gold Foil Letter Stickers by Dear Lizzy
• Letter Stickers from local bookstore

Supplies (Embellies)

• Wood Ticket and Metal Stars from OhDeerMe June Kit by Freckled Fawn
• Label Stickers from Cut & Paste Collection by My Mind's Eye
• 6x8 Perforated Word Strips, Black & White Transparency Die Cuts and Tiny Wooden Peg by Studio Calico

Supplies (Misc.)

• Border Punch by American Crafts