Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2012

So I've decided to do the "Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2012." I'm not sure if I will actually be able to make one CQ block each month next year, but I thought that it would be a good incentive! In the summer of 2010, I took Sharon Boggon's "Encrusted Crazy Quilting" online class. (A wonderful class, by the way!) I made one block, with the intention of making a 25-block CQ by December 2015 for my 25th wedding anniversary. Here it is, a year and a half later, and I've made three blocks. Not a good start. As it happens, my blocks are 6X6 inches, which fits the criteria for the CQJP 2012. I emailed the chairman to make sure I can make the blocks for a project I've already started, and Kathy Shaw replied that, "Twelve new blocks would fit the intent of the challenge...and would be fine as long as each block is at least 6x6 inches in size."

I'm showing my first three blocks, so you can get an idea of where I'm headed in 2012. I'm sticking with a monochromatic color scheme of whites, creams, and golds, with some black embroidery added. Although there will eventually be 25 blocks, I'm not making one block to correspond with one year of marriage.

This is the first block I made in Sharon's class:

This block commemorates our first trip to Europe. My husband Mike is a high school social studies teacher, and in 2006, we helped chaperone a group of 24 students on an educational trip to France and Italy (there were three other chaperones). I embroidered the Eiffel Tower in black floss and added gold beads to represent the lights at night. In the upper right corner, I embroidered the Leaning Tower of Pisa, although it didn't turn out so great. I added a "Rome" charm I bought at Hobby Lobby on the left side. You can't really see it in the photo, but I used some gold thread to embroider the year 2006 in the lower right patch.

Below are two close-ups of the block (Oops ~ I forgot to turn the photo of the Rome charm before I uploaded it.)



This is the second block I made. I embroidered the US map in black. When a local bead store was going out of business, I bought a string of about 50 light brown Swarovski crystals at a great price. I sewed one bead onto each state that Mike and I have visited together. If we visit more states before our 25th anniversary, I will add those beads to this block.

Some closeups of block 2:

There's a small lace flower under this button. I used acrylic paint to add color to the lace.

This is the third block I've made. It represents our second time chaperoning a trip to Europe, in 2008. This trip we went to Ireland, Wales, and England. I used some rubber stamps and acrylic paint to stamp the year. In the center, I embroidered Big Ben in black, and used a small mother of pearl button for the clock face. In the lower right corner, I used pre-made ribbon roses to make a circle, then I placed a shamrock charm inside.

Closeup of the shamrock and roses. I put a cream bead in the center of each rose:

Closeup of the little gathered ribbon flower I made. There are a few clear beads in the center of the flower.So there you have it: my first three CQ blocks for my anniversary quilt. Now I just need to be consistent working on the next 12 blocks in 2012!

Thanks for stopping by!

My Mind's Eye November Challenge

For this month's challenge, all the products I used are from the "Lost and Found Two" collection. Love those! The background paper looks black in the photo, but it's really a dark brown. I used some crocheted trim from L&F2. You probably can't tell from this photo, but the tree in the picture is covered in frost. I thought the pearl swirl added just the right touch to the frost. Thanks for looking:)

Back to Roma

When I went to Archiver's the other day, I absolutely fell in love with the new collection from My Mind's Eye, Lost and Found Two. It had the perfect paper for this month's MME challenge sketch from their blog. The stickers for "Back to" are from Creative Memories; the glittery "Roma" stickers are Thickers; and everything else on the page is from the Lost and Found Two collection.
Journaling reads, "Tradition says that if you toss a coin over your shoulder into Trevi Fountain, you will return to Rome someday. It worked for us in 2006. Now we'll see if the coins we tossed in 2010 will bring us back to the Eternal City for a third time..."

Here's a closeup of my brad cluster in the lower left corner. You can also see the glitter in the border of this paper.

How far?

Here is my layout for Shimelle's "Grid It Up" challenge. The July/August issue of Creating Keepsakes has an article about using grids in your layout, and I based this one on a layout by Jane Morton. All the patterned papers and stickers are from the Stella and Rose collection by My Mind's Eye.

In July, the website Another Mother Runner asked the question "How far have you run?" I posted a comment, and realized that it would make a great layout. I've had the journaling saved on my computer until I was ready to make the page.

Boys will be boys

Here's my take on the red, white, and aqua challenge that Shimelle issued, "Colour story challenge." This one was hard for me. I didn't have a lot of aqua paper, so I had to make do with that 12 X 5.5 piece. I decided to use some Adirondack cranberry color wash to mist on white cardstock. I have to admit, although I like a lot of the layouts I've seen on Shimelle's blog for this challenge, I'm not real impressed with my own. Oh well, it was a good experiment! Funny, this could have also gone towards her half page challenge, but I've already done one for that.

we LOVE the amazing race

This is for another of Shimelle's challenges, the From the Heart challenge. You're supposed to have a title of either "I love" or "I heart" something. Hopefully I won't get disqualified, because I did "We love" instead! When I saw these pictures, I just knew I wanted to scrap them. It's such a tradition for my younger two kids and me to watch "The Amazing Race." The title "I love" didn't make sense, since all three of us love this. I figure I'm going with Shimelle's intention of making a page about something I love.

Patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye; an old Valentine's Day collection. I think it may be called "Adore."

4th of July Parade

This is my entry for Shimelle's Stickery Challenge. Create a project using stickers from more than one collection. Although banners are all the rage these days, this was my first time making a layout with a banner.

The banner stickers are from Jenni Bowlin. The flag is an old Creative Memories sticker. The fireworks are from Mrs. Grossman.

My dark blue pen is drying up. The journaling reads: "We sat with the XXXXX during the parade. We saw lots of bands, the Shriners, the Jesse White Tumblers, and the Precision Lawn Chair Dads. Ladies from the library even rolled book-carts down the street. The kids' favorite, though, is collecting the candy! ~July 4, 2010"

What's so Funny?

Here's my layout for Shimelle's Half Page Challenge. The challenge is to only scrap on half of the page, and leave the other half as "breathing room." Because I love My Mind's Eye paper so much, I used it on this layout, too. The large shaped paper is Penny Lane, and the stickers are Lime Twist. Cardstock and alpha stickers are Creative Memories.

Dance

This weekend I discovered a few places that have scrapbooking challenges. This layout applies to two different challenges: Shimelle's "Signature Accent Challenge" and My Mind's Eye challenge #26.

For Shimelle, you have to make a layout featuring a product or technique that you use frequently. I have recently fallen in love with butterflies, and they've been appearing on several of my pages. I thought they were very appropriate for this layout of my DD dancing with my dad. I used an EK Success punch for the butterflies, and I mounted them with pop dots to add some dimension.

The My Mind's Eye challenge is to use their sketch, and make a layout using at least 80% of their products on the page. All my paper, stickers, and diecuts are from MME. I used products from the following lines: Laundry Line, Lime Twist, and 29th Street Market.

Thanks for looking!