Sketches: Creatively Yours: February 2012

Good Morning everyone!!!
It's a special day!
Today is the 29th of February- well, I don't have to tell you how often THAT comes around!
It's an exciting day here at Sketches: Creatively Yours as well!
Today, Ann and I have the pleasure of welcoming a brand new Design Team to Sketches: Creatively Yours... culminating a DT search that began in January 2012. The new DT members come from all over the world: from Canada, the US, Singapore, Italy, Latvia, and Australia!
I'm going to introduce each member of the new S: CY Design Team and help you get to know them better by including the bio they sent us and a piece of their scrapbooking or cardmaking art.
We have two parts making up our Team. We'll introduce the new Layout Design Team first, then the new Card Design Team!
...On with the show!

S: CY Layout Design Team

Welcome to S: CY- Design Team Member
Caryn Kidwell!

"Treasure friends"
Caryn's S: CY DT application layout

Caryn's Bio~ I'm Caryn Kidwell. I hail from Maryland. I am married to a wonderful husband of 13 years who happens to be the best flag football quarterback that I know (in my own opinion). I have been blessed with 2 of the most fantastic children (Kyle & Kassie). My family are the reason why I scrapbook. They provide me inspirations for many of my scrapbook pages. I am a diehard Redskins fan! You can always catch me behind a camera taking lots & lots of pictures. My scrapbooking style is just me doing what I love!
Caryn also creates for Scrap Your Crap and Scrapbook Challenges .
WELCOME to S: CY Caryn! We're thrilled to have you with us.

Welcome to S: CY- Design Team Member
Cassie Wiscarson

"Soak up the Sun"
Cassie's S: CY DT application layout

Cassie's Bio~ Hi, my name is Cassie. I have been married to my husband for 9 years and we have a 4 year old daughter and a 2 year old dog. My husband has been in the Army for 8 years in October. I started scrapbooking during my husband's first deployment back in 2005, while we were stationed in Germany. I really love this hobby and share it with all my family and friends. I love to inspire other people with this craft. Scrapping not only makes me happy but it is such a wonderful outlet when my husband is deployed. I usually work with sketches when I scrap, but I also love to change up the sketch to make it my own. My blog is HERE and my pinterest is HERE.
Cassie has had the honor of being a Guest Designer at Frosted Designs blog in June 2011. She is also very active over at Club CK. S: CY is her first DT gig.
Welcome to S: CY Cassie! We're so thrilled you're on our Team!

WELCOME to S: CY- Design Team Member
Elisha Pharr

"5 Years: us"
Elisha's S: CY DT application layout

Elisha's Bio~ Hello Scrappy Friends! My name is Elisha Pharr. I am a blessed wife to my handsome hubby, Jason and momma to my Princess Carley, and my Super Hero Gavin. We live in beautiful North West Alabama, where I own and operate an in-home daycare by day and shuttle my little ones to dance and karate by night.

I began scrapbooking 7 years ago, when Carley was two and I haven't stopped since. I am a former member of the Scrapbookers Clubhouse Design Team and the Paper Piecing Artist Guild. My work has also been featured on numerous blogs, including 3 Scrappy Boys and Inspired to Scrap. As a pre-school teacher with a love for paper, scissors, and glue, it was only natural that I would fall in love with this great hobby! It also makes nap time the perfect time to scrapbook.

When I'm not scrapbooking, I enjoy getting lost in a good book, cooking all those recipes I've pinned on Pinterest, and spending quality time with my family. My husband and I both love to sing and are active in our home church, Hackleburg Community Church. Jason plays bass in the youth band and I fill in on the Praise and Worship team from time to time. Jason is also a T8 Level Paraplegic from a spinal cord injury he suffered in a car wreck at the age of 16. We enjoying visiting with others with spinal cord injuries to encourage and give them hope of a normal, positive and productive life.

I am beyond thrilled to be a part of the Sketches: Creatively Yours Team and look forward to the next 6 months of sketches, inspiration, and fun!! Thank you Ali and Ann for the opportunity. Feel free to visit my little corner of the web HERE. My pinterest is HERE.
WELCOME Elisha, it's so FABULOUS to connect with you through S: CY!

WELCOME to S: CY- Design Team Member Kelly Smith

"The great button debacle of 2011"
Kelly's S: CY DT application layout

Kelly's bio~ I’ve been “scrapbooking” and making art all my life in one form or another but was only introduced to “industry scrapbooking” in 2005. I love to work with my hands and to create works of art in food, fabric and paper. I love photography and believe that a good photograph can tell a great story and is the beginning of a great page. I am addicted to preserving memories and building a heritage that will last for generations to come.

I have been married to my best friend since 1983, we have three children who are all grown and gone from home. Our two sons are married and my favourite topics to scrapbook have to be my two adorable grandchildren. In early 2011, my husband and I adopted an energetic little dog who also appears on many of my current layouts. Other than him, I am an empty nester.
My style is constantly evolving but to me the story is key. I’m a story-teller at heart and journaling is a part of every page I do. My style covers a range from clean and simple to shabby vintage chic to grungy. It all depends on the story that begs to be told. I love my sewing machine and when I’m not sewing on my layouts, I’m quilting. I am very passionate about leaving these stories and quilts for my children and their children as a tangible legacy.
My blog is HERE and my pinterest is HERE.

Welcome to S: CY Kelly! It's wonderful to have yet another Canadian gal as part of the Blog!

Welcome to S: CY- Design Team Member
Julie Lakose

"Spunk"
Julie's S: CY application layout

Julie's Bio~ Julie LaKose (aka hisglorygirl) comes from Iowa, the "heart" of the USA! She has been scrapbooking for a little over ten years. She is inspired by her husband, family, Jesus and just everyday moments, in general. She finds that the process of scrapbooking helps her document beautiful memories, preserve moments for her children and discover who she really is. Scrapbooking is also a place to express her love for the written word. Just like her habit of thrifting, she loves mixing vintage and new scrapbooking items on her pages and projects to create a finished product as unique as her everyday outfits. You can find Julie's Blog HERE.

Welcome to S: CY Julie! Already loving the 'positivity' you have brought along with you!

Welcome to S: CY- Design Team Member
Tammy Pyette

"Our little monkey"
Tammy's S: CY application layout

Tammy's notes re: above LO~ The source for the scrapbooking elements on this page is: http://www.promos4digiscrappers.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/6229/sort/2/ppuser/65

Tammy's Bio~ Hi Everyone! My husband and I are raising our family on about 6 acres of wooded land in the middle of nowhere on a "mountain" in Nova Scotia. I'm homeschooling our 4 little Monkeys, so our days are full of "the 3 Rs", lots of cuddles and lots of laughs. I have a small portrait studio, which seems to shrink as my children grow. Still, photography remains one of my passions, so I take a ton of photos of my own family. I build my SB pages digitally within about a month of making them- Usually with one baby on my knee and another one reading to me from a historical fiction novel. Multitasking, as always. Here's the link to Tammy's Facebook page.

WELCOME to S: CY Tammy! Love the digi-scrappin' knowledge you you bring to the Blog!

Welcome to S: CY- Design Team Member Yati Dali

"T is for Thankful"
Yati's S: CY application layout

Yati 's Bio~ Hi! I'm Yati, from Singapore. I’m a FTWM with 2 beautiful daughters; a 4.8 years old and 3.5 years old who are the main subjects of my pages.

I started dabbling with scrapbooking in 2006. Only in 2007, when I had my first daughter, did I become obsessed with scrapbooking.

I wanted to record, capture and preserve all the precious memories of our life together… our journey…. the ups and downs.
My style of scrapbooking usually depends on the photos that I wanted to scrap, what kind of feeling/story I wanted to portray through my layouts. Every time I complete a project/layout… I feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction and it always makes my day a better one! The link to Yati's blog is HERE.

Welcome to S:CY Yati! It's awesome that you've brought your style to our Team!

S: CY Card Design Team

The S: CY Card Design Team (CDT) was especially chosen to represent differing styles that employ unique ways of interpretating card sketches. At S: CY, card sketches are posted once per month and these are the gals interpreting them!

Welcome to the S: CY Card Design Team
CDT Member Liva Kalnina

Liva's Card Design Team application project

Liva's Bio~ Hello! My name is Liva and I come from Latvia. I work from home. I have two small girls and a husband who works in Germany and Italy, so I often go there as well.

I've been scrapbooking, cardmaking and decoupaging just (or some might say already) three years and I'm constantly forced to use unusual materials, invent my own tools and try different techniques, as papercrafting is not popular here in Latvia, but it gets better...

I can't say that I have my own style developed yet, as there are so many things to experiment with. But I also think that it might be one of my greatest advances on a design team - to show others something different each time and encourage to try them something new.

Currently I am a Design Team member of Digi Doodle Shop's challenges and I also do monthly step by step tutorials for them in their newsletter. I am also an author of a crafting encyclopedia here in Latvia. I blog HERE, and HERE is my pinterest site.

WELCOME to the S: CY Card Design Team Liva! Great to have you with us!

Welcome to the S:CY Card Design Team
CDT Member Michelle ("Chelle") Kuijer

Chelle's S:CY Card Design Team application project

Chelle's Bio~ Hi! I am Chelle, from the Niagara region of Ontario, Canada. I have been scrapbooking since 2001. Recently I have been focusing on card making but I am trying to refocus and get my scrapbooking back into a groove. I have worked at a LSS before having my daughter 6 years ago (I still help out occasionally). I am on the Design Team (usually every other month) at Scraptures... an online kit club. My friend owns it so I help with picking out the product for the kits. I LOVE working off of sketches... gets my creative juices flowing.

My main blog is HERE and I also have a photo art blog HERE (which is not updated as often). THIS is my pinterest link.

WELCOME to the S: CY Card Design Team Chelle, love that you can be here to share your talents on our Blog!

Welcome to the S:CY Card Design Team
CDT Member Simona Lolli

Simona's S:CY Card Design Team application project

Simona's Bio~ I'm Simona Lolli, I am Italian from Bologna. I am 42 years old, with a husband and two children: Sara is 11 years old and Jacopo is 16 years old.
I approached scrapbooking a couple of years ago. I like to make LOs, Flipbooks and cards. I do not have a particular style, I like to use stamps, punch and mixing techniques. Happy to be part of this wonderful group!
You can find Simona at her Blog HERE. Her pinterest is HERE.
WELCOME to the S: CY Card Team Simona, you may be far away but your beautiful work will help us all make the world seem "smaller!"

Welcome to the S:CY Card Design Team
CDT Member Stacey Hillesheim

Stacey's S: CY Card Design Team application project

Stacey's Bio~ Hi! My name is Stacey. I have been married to my wonderful husband for 20 years and together we have 2 amazing children. Our daughter is a sophomore in college and our son is a senior in high school. I have been scrapbooking for about 6 years and card making for around 3 years. My passion is most definitely card making. I love creating cards using sketches and seeing the receipients' faces light up when they receive something handmade. I am currently on the Trendy Twine Design Team. I have also served on several other design teams including: Joy's Life, Perfect Sentiments, Tacky Tuesdays, Cricut 360, Cooking With Cricut, Flaunt It Fridays, Inking It Up Crazy and Paper Therapy. I have also recently been published in the Feb. 2012 issue of Cricut Magazine. You can find my Blog HERE.

WELCOME to the S: CY Card Design Team Stacey! Your experiences as a cardmaker will be well-employed here! Thrilled to have you with us.

Welcome to the S:CY Card Design Team
CDT Member Vikki Whittington

Vikki's S: CY Card Team application project

Vikki's Bio~ I have been stamping for 15 years although my stamping has really evolved over the last 3 or 4 years after meeting my good friend Robyn and discovering blogs and challenges. I cannot believe how many crafty people there are out there and the quality that people produce. I am predominately a stamper/card maker but have dabbled in scrapbooking over the last 5 years. I really enjoy bringing my stamping knowledge to my scrapbooking where possible. My main crafting day is Saturday, sometimes a little bit on Sunday depending if my hubby is working or not. I work full time as the Area Manager - North Queensland for Nestle' Purina Petcare. This means I am away during the week about every fortnight (note to our Canadian and US friends... this means about every two weeks). The best bit of travelling is visiting the craft stores in the other cities. ;-)

I have been happily married to my childhood sweetheart for 20 years but we have actually been together for 29 years. We have two great kids... Matthew 15 & Jordyn 14. You can find my Blog HERE.
WELCOME to the S: CY Card Design Team, Vikki! Your stamping will sure come in handy here! So excited that you're here at S: CY!

As you can see we have a very talented Team joining us for the next 6 months! Why not become a "Follower"? The link's over in the right sidebar. That way, you can be sure that you never miss a Sketch or one the creations by this talented Team!

Your S: CY Admin Team

Ann and I wanted to wave hello too, now that you've met the new S: CY DT.
We share the responsibility of creating Sketches for S: CY. Ann, who has been a Design Team Member here at S: CY since 2009, draws her sketches on the computer, as you have undoubtedly noticed. I draw the sketches by hand and manage the day-to-day running of the site (lots of folders and emails, LOL!!), arrange Guests, and create the posts, working with our Design Team members on anything that comes up. Ann is my right hand gal for many things, including acting as a faithful listener whom I can "bounce ideas off"! We are good friends through S: CY. We love this Blog. It has been a huge friendship-builder for us both despite the fact that Ann lives in Alberta, and I live in Nova Scotia. That's right: we live over 5000 miles apart and have never officially "met." LOL!

S: CY Senior Designer Ann Seleshanko

Card created by S: CY Senior Designer
Ann Seleshanko

Ann's Bio~ Hello, my name is Ann and I've been a scrapbooker for 13 years. I've been married almost 14 years and I'm a SAHM to two boys (9 & 12). I spend most of my days volunteering at my children's school. When I'm not there I'm pactising yoga, reading or papercrafting. I love to make cards for all occasions but my favourite are by far Christmas cards. I'm a huge Copic fan and I'm a Certified Intermediate instructor. I love to color! In the past I've been on many Design Teams but now I mostly scrapbook for myself. I'm a "minimalist" scrapbooker. I use mostly patterned papers to tell my stories. I have been with Sketches: Creatively Yours for longer than I can remember and I'm happy to stay here!

S: CY Team Leader
Ali MacDonald

"Little Girl Dreams" layout by
S: CY Team Leader Ali MacDonald
[Photo Credit: Danique Rowsell, Century Classic Photography]

Ali's Bio~ Hi everyone, I'm Ali, a SAHM to 4 kiddos from ages 18 to 9 years- Kate, Bryan, Daniel and Noah. I am also a registered nurse (RN) & a person with multiple sclerosis. Our youngest little guy, Noah, has special needs so I am always extra busy with the kids & life in general. I have honestly become what I'd call an "organizer extraordinaire," devoted to keeping things simple. LOL... It's survival, really.
I am married to my best friend, Pete, & have known him since I was sixteen. He is a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force- 28 years in August! This year we will have been married 20 years. We are blessed to live here in the gorgeous Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, Canada.
I began SB'ing in 2002. My style ranges from clean/graphic to shabby chic, depending on the subject. Creating something that fits the mood of the photos is fun! Journaling on most of my pages is extremely important to me, as I want to tell stories that will leave a legacy for the children. I make cards too, specializing in cards for horse-lovers.
In my "spare" time, I'm a freelance writer. Non-fiction is my chosen genre. Originally, I focused mainly on science articles for elementary school kids, & have been published in The School Magazine (Aus). In recent writing, I've focused on sharing the story we're "living--" all about having a little boy with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) & how our family is helping him as best we can. In that vein, I wrote a cover story for Exceptional Family magazine, & have had articles published in The Lion magazine & the Aurora newspaper. Pete & I do public speaking about our son's Autism Assistance Dog Guide (AADG), "Argo," & how he has been able to help Noah in various ways. People are very curious about this, so this is our small way of giving back to our community. I'm so happy to be Team Leader here at S: CY. Love being able to share scrappy sketches with such amazing people!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ann and I are so excited to have a brand new Design Team on board... A WARM WELCOME TO THE NEW S:CY DESIGN TEAM!
Readers, you are going to be thrilled when you see what this bunch of gals can do with S: CY Sketches!!
Come by often, stay awhile, share the link with others, and be sure you're a blog Follower! You're always welcome here!
See you tomorrow morning when we introduce our Guest Designer for March 2012!! It's going to be an awesome month!

and Ann

Sketch #6-12 created by
S: CY Team Leader Ali MacDonald

"Sleep" layout created by
S: CY February 2012 Guest Designer
Stephanie Medley-Rath

"Dad" layout created by
S: CY Design Team Member
Maggi Harding

"Mommy- Zachary Adventure" layout created by
S: CY Design Team Member
Heather Bridges Topich

Journaling reads: "I so cherish spending time with you, Z... especially just the two of us. I hope you always know that you can come talk to me. You are safe. You are loved. You are awesome."

"The makings of a star" layout created by
S: CY Design Team Member Rita Barakat

"Sail with the wind" layout created by
S: CY Design Team Member
Patchi Moussatche

"Seaside Holidays" layout created by
S: CY Design Team Member Cheryl Casas

"We saw Rilla Kissing Santa Claus" layout created by
friend of S: CY, digital Designer
Tammy Pyette

"Remember This" layout created by
S: CY Design Team Member Renee Hagler

"Beautiful Santorini, Greece" layout created by
S: CY Senior Designer Ann Seleshanko

"You Are My Favourite" layout created by
S: CY Team Leader Ali MacDonald

Ali's notes: These March 2011 photos were taken by Danique Rowsell of

Century Classic Photography. Journaling reads: Kate and Grace always look beautiful together and these photos by Danique underscore their bond.They are an amazing team, you can see it in their expressions!

Thank you all so much for the astounding variety and scope present in these layouts. We have everything ranging from kiddo layouts to pages that commemorate the vacation of a lifetime, summery celebrations, Christmas excitement, family heritage, and activities like dance, sailing and riding!! Great job, Team!
Special Thanks to our Guest Designer Stephanie Medley-Rath this month. We have appreciated you sharing your work with us, and enjoyed checking out the links you provided. I highly encourage
S: CY Followers and readers to review [and bookmark!] the links below for interesting and fun information from Stephanie, who holds a PhD in Sociology and made the study of scrapbooking and scrapbookers her dissertation topic.
The "Scrapworthy Lives" Blog
Scrapworthy Lives Newsletter sign-up link (with a GREAT freebie!)
The Scrapworthy Lives Guide to Market Research
Scrapworthy Lives on Facebook
Scrapworthy Lives on Twitter
Scrapworthy Lives on Google+
Stephanie Medley-Rath on Pinterest
Stephanie Medley-Rath's Blog
Thanks so much for sharing and being with us this month Stephanie! Don't be a stranger! LOL... we hope you can join us again as a Guest Designer. :o)
Have a wonderful weekend and upcoming week, everyone! We have something special coming to S: CY on Feb 28th, then right away, yet another treat on February 29th here on the S: CY Blog!
Stay tuned~ Be sure to mark your calendar, and be on the lookout.
Chat soon!

~

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Introducing the S: CY Design Team!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

BONUS Bookmark Sketch #112

Friday, February 24, 2012

Sketch #6-12

Friday, February 17, 2012

Card Sketch #212


"With Love" card created by S: CY Card Crew Desing Team Member Michelle Hodges Notes from Michelle: For the stamp, I used Crafter's Companion Humphrey stamp. I colored the stamp using Faber Castell pitt pens. The clip with twine is holding the tag up. The sentiment is from the same stamp. The number 14 is for Valentine's Day. This is from the Tim Holtz collection.