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I hope everyone is having a great weekend!  It was sunny here today and starting to feel like spring is in the air.  We put up our trampoline and the kids will be getting lots of exercise and fresh air now!

For this blog post, I’m back to the bowling alley we went to on Good Friday.  This first layout was created during a crop with my scrappy friends, Jenn and Sue last weekend.  This layout was inspired by one of my scrappy heroes, Rahel, over at Swiss Girl Designs.  She is Swissgirl90 on YT, and I just discovered her process vids.  I recently saw her create a layout that used a lot of layering and a bunch of twine, and I wanted to give it a try.  I busted out my April Studio Calico kit (City of Lights and the Sorbonne add on) and got to work… in between chatting with the girls.

Strike a pose

Although I used my SC kit, I didn’t use much of it!  After I stamped and splattered the background, I layered a piece of the paper bag the kit came in behind the polka dotted paper, which is actually an advertisement from the kit.  The yellow houndstooth layer came next, which was actually scraps from the March kit… followed by some Crate Paper borders.  Then I created an envelope using an old hanging file folder (stamped with the graphic stamp from the kit) and a sizzix petite envelope die.  Nothing is in it… it’s just for decoration, lol!  Then a die cut tag from the kit, 3 butterflies, punched with a Martha Stewart punch out of a Hambly screen print,a dn coloured with a yellow alcohol marker.  Finally, the picture, and a piece of wash tape.  Phew!

strike a pose cu2
Layered goodness!

I made the title from the Jenni Bowlin stencil that came in the kit, and some prima chalk ink.  Te tiny grey letters came in the kit.

Strike a pose cu1

I glued the twine in place with glossy accents, but next time I’ll use something less shiny.  You can see it in lots of places (although not in these photos)!

Strike a pose cu3

I do a lot of layering, but this is my thickest layering yet!

No process vid for this one, but here is a share video that might give a closer look:

After my friends left, I still felt like scrapping, so I put this one together, also using the  Studio Calico April kit (City of Lights and Sorbonne add on).
Chocolate Milk

I love how Sophie’s handwriting is in the title, and I am thrilled with how that frame looks on this layout!  Those frames were something I never would have picked out myself, but I am so loving working with them!  I love how kits can really stretch you creatively in that way! (the stray apostrophe is the result of my multi-tasking while creating the title, lol… not sure what I was thinking there!)

chocolate milk cu2

chocolate milk cu1

And here is the process vid:

Mercy Tiara

Mercy Tiara

You may be wondering who is Mercy Tiara, and why the name? MercyTiara is an anagram of my first and middle names, Tracy Marie. I discovered this name in the 90's in grad school when we were all coming up with alter egos for one another in a lab one day. I've used it ever since, but you can call me Tracy or MercyTiara, or anything you want... just don't call me late for supper!