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22 May 2012

{a wonderful day for a} SMILE


I just love the sketch at Sketches with a Twist this month! The twist for the challenge is that you need to include some stitching on your layout as well. Well, I don't mind doing a bit of stitching (having been a sewer in a previous (very long ago) life and a cross stitcher more recently). So, I went in search of some photos that would fit the layout sketch and came across these ones from six (wow, 6!!!) years ago. Then I found an old Stampin Up! kit called Hoppy Memories and set to work. All the papers and stickers are from that kit.

The kit had lots of frogs and turtles on the stickers, but I've learned to cover those sorts of things up if they're not useful for what I'm making. I bet you didn’t realise that the journalling circle has a frog on it, the spotty oval has a turtle on it, and the green hashed oval is in fact a lily pad! By placing other stickers from the kit over the top, you can cover up pretty much anything.


After sticking everything down I added the stitching. I pierced holes around the edge of the journalling spot to make a running stitch. I pierced holes for the cross stitches on the green oval, on the end of the border under the title, and in the top of the subtitle journalling block. (That last spot was the easiest as I just pierced holes on top of some of the dots so I knew they would be symmetrical!). Lastly I pierced six holes in the star - one in the centre and one in each of the points of the star. I then made a lazy daisy stitch from the star centre to each point and ended up with a flower. I really like how that turned out. 


I then added a few brads and the Smile (Basic Grey) letter sticker title. This is one of the current word challenges at Bird is the Word. Since the letters didn’t stand out that much against the green background paper, I doodled around the edge of the letters with an orange pen. I added some glitter to the heart and around the edge of the {heart} you sticker as well, using my Sakura clear stardust gel pen. 


All done! So, what do you think?



Till next time, happy days.

Francine

7 comments:

Laurie said...

I LOVE your take on this sketch, the oranges and greens are my fave color combo! You did a great job on this sketch, thanks for playing along with swat!!

The Constant Scrapper said...

Francine, I just love this layout! Your stitching is fabulous, and the whole thing just came together so well. Fun! Thanks so much for joining our May challenge at Sketches With a Twist. :-)
Janice

Lizzyc said...

Hi Francine, your take on the sketch looks marvellous! and I love all your hints on using your stickers and covering up the bits you don't want to see!! I love your stitches and the lazy daisy!! Thanks for joining in at Sketches with a Twist!

Raechelle Bellus said...

first off, I love how well you've hidden the icons, Francine, I would never have known. Your stitching and take on the sketch are fabulous! Thanks for joining us at Sketches with a Twist this month~
Raechelle- SWAT DT

ddazzled71 said...

What a fabulously fun page and wonderful take on the sketch. The bright colors are perfect for the adorable photos. Thanks so much for joining us at Sketches with a Twist.
Danie - SWAT DT

ANUPAMA CHOUDARY said...

Love the stitching and the colors!

Marilyn said...

Fabulous page! Thanks for playing at BITW!