Sketchy Saturday Challenege is Up

No big introduction, just here it is, this week's Sketchy Saturday challenge at Simply Scrapping Crafts:






I LOVE the way it came out, and it was super fast. With family still visiting this week, I did not work on this layout till the night before it was due. Sometimes that's just the way it has to be, and my only fear when that happens, is that I will get stuck on a detail. Sometimes layouts come together right away, and sometimes I need to let them sit for a day or two before I am completely satisfied. That wasn't a choice this time.

Here's how it went down: I sat down with the idea to make this layout about my kids and their cousins, and how they've always been close. But soon after I printed the pictures, I did not like the way it was turning out. That was the kind of "stuck" that I was worried about, but without panicking I found these photos. After weeks of family visits, and a Bar Mitzvah, I had lots of pictures and stories to work with. I haven't really ever scraped about my nieces and nephews, except when they are in pictures with my own kids. One nice thing about working on design teams, and, therefore, working with deadlines, is that it forces me to do scrap more often, and with that comes scrapping about different subjects. This layout features my 4 year old niece from Israel, Meital, who is just plain cute. She usually warms up to me pretty fast, but she was so jet lagged, and there was so much happening that we didn't have that much time to bond. But, last Friday afternoon, I managed to play with her a little, and snap these photos. Also exciting, was using pinks, and frills without worrying about being too feminine. When this was finished, I just in my chair, staring at it, swooning over my work. I felt like Narcissus.

Something else I thought about as I made this layout. I am not a huge buyer of scrap products. I do buy some stickers, brads, buttons, ribbons, and tags, but I don't usually have a huge amount (compared to others). First of all, it's expensive, so I try to spend my money on the basics-namely tools and paper and cardstock. Second, I am a pretty simple scrapper. Third, there's a part of me that feels like I am cheating when I use pre-made items. And finally, I don't have that much room for tons and tons of supplies (though I am starting to think about how to squeeze some more storage into my scrap space). This past week, however, I decided to buy some supplies that I don't usually get--these swirly flourishes would be included in that. And, I do really love the way it looks. And it was so easy!! It makes it look so good, so fast. What shall I buy next...?