Word for the Year

A lot of people choose a theme word of the year.  I've never even been tempted to do this...mostly because I doubt my ability to do anything for a year, even living by a  theme.

But this morning, I had an apostrophe ("I think you mean epiphany!").  I *do* need a theme this year.  Because there's a lot going on in my life at the moment.  There's a baby coming.  If that was all, it would be enough...but there are also four other kids, and a dog, and a husband, and a house that's still only part unpacked (let alone put together).  I have friends and a sister.  There are still things I want to do creatively, and in ministry.  So, yeah.  I need *something* to help me keep all this together.

Seems like it should be more profound.  But, if you know me, I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda girl.  I don't really plan.  And I can organize just about anyone other than myself.  So, this really is a big deal in my world.  But, darnit, I'm gonna do my best this year.

And, the best part is that I *know* that if I can organize myself...my home, my kids, my routine...that the rest of what I want to accomplish will fall into place.  I can be the person that I need to be, to all the different people who need me, if I can get my own poop in a group (so to speak).  And I can be creative if my world isn't in such chaos.

Tall order.  Baby steps.  One bin, one box at a time.  It's so easy for me to be overwhelmed.  But it's good.  And necessary.

So...here's to my word of the year!  Let's get ORGANIZED!

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Pinterest-Inspired Sketch Freebie 3

As promised, here is the third addition to my collection of Pinterest-inspired scrapbooking sketches!  I'm beginning to be embarrassed by the number of times a day I say the word "Pinterest," but I've determined to work through it.  It's rather like when I opened my Facebook account and felt silly for having one as an adult...and, now, just a few years later, everyone has a page, including our parents...

So, I'll continue to be Pinspired, and you get to reap the sketchy benefits!

The Inspiration (pinned here):

I just *love* the minimalism here and how the bold color jumps off the neutral background.  I kept the sketch super-simple with lots of negative space, but still accommodated three 2x3 photos; you could just as effectively use one larger photo in the design, however.

The Sketch:

Happy scrapping!  Don't forget to link back here so I can see your fab pages!

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Pillow DIY

I'm not even gonna say the P-word.  Fortunately, this project began several months ago...before I knew about the P-word.  Although, I'm sure someone, somewhere has pinned this tutorial.

I found the instructions for this pillow here, at Running with Scissors.  I was getting ready for an annual craft day that hubs' cousin holds for friends and family, and looking for some free sewing tutorials.  So, since I have a total obsession with bird silhouettes, this one "spoke" to me.  Practically screamed, is more like it, really...

To make it even more enticing, she has incredibly detailed step-by-steps on the blog, and...wait for it...a download of the silhouette!  So simple!

Hers:

And mine:

I'm pretty happy with the results, considering that (1) I'm not a great seamstress and (2) I had to spitball some of the directions.  For instance, she painted the body of the tree onto her cover.  I wasn't about to do that, so I used my mad Photoshop skills on some iron transfer paper.  Never used the stuff before, and mucked it up once; nailed it the second time around. Fortunately, I had enough fabric to start over!

Also, she actually appliqued the little leaves, which is way (way) too advanced for me.  So, I chose some nice stiff fabric to cut the leaves from and just ran a double stitch down the center of each.  Worked well enough for me!  I added the little buttons for pretties, and called it done.  I can also assure you that it is perfectly square, despite this photo's knack for making it look all lopsided.

The pillow is for the nursery.  And don't worry, I won't keep it in the crib once she starts chewing on things...I know the tiny buttons are choking hazards!  In the meantime, though, it's one more little project done before she arrives!

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Baby Stats Prints

This little blog of mine is quickly turning into a Pinterest love-fest!

You know I've been designing from it (stay tuned for Sketch 3 later in the week).  And my Facebook friends know I've been cooking from it (spoiler alert: this sketch isn't released yet from Scrapbook Challenges!).  Click to enlarge:

Cooking with Pinterest digital scrapbooking layout by Chanell Rigterink Credits Digital Paper: Rise and Shine Papers by Raspberry Road Designs; Silverware: Domestic Goddess Add-On by Raspberry Road Designs; Vegetable Stamps, Baker's Twine: Gunhild Storeide; Sketch: 280 by Scrapbook Challenges; Fonts: Grants Ghosts, Underwood Champion; Other: photos and logo from Pinterest.com

And now, I've finally decided to tap into my I Can Do That! board and let the DIYing commence!  First up, these adorable prints with all the babies' birth stats (pinned here):

Now, I pinned it from someone, who pinned it from this blog...but she's not the original genius, either.  I don't know who did this the first time, so I just have to send out virtual kudos.  Because she's brilliant.  Special thanks, though, to the blogger for suggesting the font to use.  I thought I'd be clever and original and do something different...and still ended up following her lead!  Gill Sans MT, by the way... Oh, and I totally stole her color schemes for a couple of them.

With the new baby at T minus eight weeks and counting, our other kids want to know all about their own births and such.  So this is a timely project.  For my version, I added newborn pictures.  I liked the personal twist, and it kept the series looking more interesting.  'Cause, well, there's a lot of them.

                 

                 

And there'll be one more in a few short weeks!  I'll probably mock up the print with her name and all the colors ahead of time, so it will be easy to pop in the particulars and be done.  I printed these today at Costco, and they turned out just adorable.  And cheap.  Like $1.50 each.  Score.

Hm.  Costco and Pinterest.  That relationship bears further exploration, I think!

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Pinterest-Inspired Sketch Freebie 2

The second installment of sketches inspired by randomness on Pinterest!  I can't believe what a treasure-trove that site has turned out to be!  I'm cooking from it, decorating from it and even scrapping from it!  Crazy...

So, this edition's inspiration piece...a burlap quilt square, pinned here:

This was a simple adaptation.  It's square; it practically *looks* like a layout already.  Easy photo placement, some fun contrasting stitching and a title or journaling spot.  This can go very sleek and minimalist, or, with some simple embellishments, become something special and versatile!

Have fun with the sketch!  I'd love to see what you do with it!

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A Good Little Life

I know I should keep the blog hop post on top...but this is begging to be said.

I've got a great life going here.

It's mid-Saturday afternoon, and I'm still in jammies.  There's a fire in the fireplace, snow falling outside my window and four babies outside playing.  There's another baby happily asleep in my tummy.  I have a glass of Dr. Pepper in my hand and a dog curled up somewhere nearby.  The dishes aren't done, the beds aren't made and there's laundry to put away.  Hubs loves me.

I hope you have a good little life, too.  It's a feeling that I can't even explain...

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Scrapbook Challenges Blog Hop

Welcome to our latest installment of the Scrapbook Challenges Seasons of Change Blog Hop!  I hope you're enjoying your little trip through the interweb...you're probably joining me from Jowilna's blog, but if you've just stumbled upon me here (or have gotten lost along the way), you can find the beginning of the train at the SC Blog.


We have a new crop of Design Team members joining the hop this season, so let me re-introduce myself.  I'm Chanell, a resident digi-designer.  I'm proud mama to (almost) five babies (newest due in March) and a very spoiled dog, and wife to a high school statistics teacher and football coach.  I've been scrapping since 2009, and I just adore being on the DT here at Scrapbook Challenges.  I hope you're enjoying your time with us, too!


Brynn has given us a fantastic sketch to play with for this hop...and the second we turned it into a double-pager, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it!

Even though it's snowing here in Michigan (in fact, my kids are all home from school today because of the weather!), this sketch was the ideal inspiration for a whole batch of our vacation pictures...from TWO summers ago!  Yeah, I've been procrastinating this one. 


There were just too many good pictures from the week, and I didn't want to do a dozen individual layouts.  So, this double-page sketch, with space for as many as 19(!) photos, let me put get all our memories down in one layout! You can click to see it larger...

Snapshots of Vacation digital scrapbooking layout by Chanell Rigterink Credits Digital Kit: Garden Gate by Raspberry Road Designs; Stitching: Gunhild Storeide; Sketch: Scrapbook Challenges; Fonts: Turtle Club, Century Gothic

Ahhh.  It feels soooo good to have that layout finally done!

OK, so, on to the important stuff...PRIZES!  These are really cool...

1.  The HOP ON PRIZE for completing a layout based on the hop sketch and posting it to the Hop On thread.

2.  The COMMENTING PRIZE for leaving love at each of the DT blogs.

3.  The NEW MEMBER PRIZE for one randomly chosen member who joins SC between 1/13 and 1/15.

Holy schmoly!  Have fun hoppin' around this weekend and I hope to see you around the site!

Your next stop on the Hop is with Lee-Ann.

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Pinterest-Inspired Sketch Freebie

Like the rest of the world, it seems, I can spend hours lost on Pinterest.  Lately, I've been spotting lots of neat advertisements and other graphic items that really lend themselves to layout designs...so I've decided to use all these pins of mine to put together a series of freebie sketches!

The first inspiration (pinned here):

This caught my eye because of it's easy, grid design, straight lines and tape.  I love tape.  It's such a great foundation for a clean and modern, even minimal-style page...but that simplicity also makes it super for going nuts with layers and embellishments!

The sketch I've made for you is somewhere in between.  It's a snap to put together because, as a 12x12 page, it only takes two 4x6 photos and one (or two) 3.75 squares plus a few 3/4" paper strips.  Easy peasy.

Enjoy!  And please link back here so I can see your awesome work!

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Sketchy Goodness

I have two important, sketch-related announcements today...

First.  I make my debut this month as the double-page sketch artist for Scrap n' Art Magazine!  So cool!

Because SNA is a subscription-based mag, I can't show you the actual sketch...but, if you go here, you can take care of that little problem!  SNA is a great publication, and I know you'll love it!

And, secondly...the first sketch of the new year is now available at Scrapbook Challenges!  You can find it here...

I got a chance to work with it in the fall, and I'm really thrilled with the results.  I don't scrap about Hubs very often, but this was one of those times when the right sketch, right kit and right photo all aligned!  Here's my take...you can click to enlarge.

Love This Game digital scrapbooking layout by Chanell Rigterink Credits Digital Kit: Sports-Football and Football Snipettes by Sahlin Studio; Sketch: 276 by Scrapbook Challenges; Font: Traveling Typewriter

Thanks for looking!  Go scrap something today!

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