Summer Fun!

 Hello and Happy August! I hope you are all doing well and enjoying Summer, even if you're doing it in air conditioning like me! 😁 It's time for another design team make for Love to Craft Anything Goes Challenge #61!

Love To Craft challenges are monthly, going live at 4:00 AM Mountain Time on the first day of every month and run until 4:00 PM Mountain Time on the last day of the month. We always play Anything Goes and would love to have you join us! For more details, check the sidebar HERE. 

I need some more Summer decorations, so I decided to make this. I bought this Createful Heart digi called Backyard Grill because I thought it was adorable and then got the idea to cut the printed image with my Creative Expressions by Sue Wilson Apron die I'd yet to use. I went old skool with patterned  papers from Carolee's Creation, DCWV and Creative Imaginations. Then I went really old skool and added some eyelets and brads from my stash. I literally forgot for a bit how to use my eyelet setters, lol, but it did come back to me, finally! 

   

I used this SplitCoastStampers Sketch SC308, but resized it to 7.25" x 8" in PSE. I've been using a 9x12 Stampin' Up 3-ring binder album with oversized 8.5x8.5" page protectors to store my decos in. It's now full of 8x8" decos, and I cannot find any more albums like that, so I'm having to make my decos a bit smaller to fit into the other 8x8 albums I have. I've been experimenting -- this one is my first time to keep the 8-inch height but make the width smaller and I do like it.

I used several die cuts: Lawn Fawn sun, MFT chevron zig zag strips (colored with Promarkers), Newton's Nook flip flops (stamped and colored), Sunny Stamps watermelon and seeds (stamped and colored), and I mentioned the apron (colored with Promarkers) but to fill the apron pockets I also used utensils from the Sue Wilson die set and one from a Gina Marie Baking set.

I just had to document this. The bane of my scrapbooking existence has always begun and ended with rub-ons. They never lasted long for me before drying out, and there was always a surprise (like part of the letter wouldn't rub off or would break off). Well, except for one pack of rub-ons that are pictured above. They are 15 years old but still work! Just had to notate that. To me and my track record with rub-ons,  that's almost a miracle, lol! 😇

The base for my deco is the chipboard backing from an 8x8 paper pad. I used a Posca metallic silver paint pen to accent the legs and various other parts of the grill and to color the utensils. I used the skinniest satin ribbon I had in my stash for the apron strings and neck. Because it was brown, I used brown eyelets and outlined the apron in brown Promarker. I also outlined all the papers with Promarkers in matching colors. I was going to add a beer bottle die cut, but got really tired of messing with it, I guess, because I just now remembered that as I type this. 😬😚😛

I have the back of the deco covered up with a piece of the DCWV paper and Promarker-colored MFT photo corner die cuts. This was to finish it as well as cover up the brad prongs and as always use up more paper! 

This close-up is to show the metallic silver accents to the grill and pocketed utensils. I love that the blue Promarker I used on the apron matches the blue in the plaid paper so well. I used some foam tape to adhere the sun, butterfly, apron, flip flops, watermelon and bottom zig zag strip, so there's a bit of dimension to the piece.

This close-up is to show the eyelets and brads on the chevron zig zag strip. Right in the middle of making this I ended up going through my eyelets and throwing a bunch away because they were too... strong? thick? None of my setters could pound 'em down. And I knew this as soon as I bought them ages ago. Why did I keep them? Did I think I'd suddenly become stronger, or they would soften? LOLOL Yes, I admit, I'm a hoarder collector! 😋

And here is a final view of it on display on my front foyer table. As many home decorations as I've made, I really need to do more for some seasons: Summer being one, Christmas being another. It never ends and I'm never caught up. Welcome to Crafting! 😂 Hope you have a great day and until next time, Stay Well and Craft On! XOX

MY CHALLENGE PLAYLIST:

1.   SplitCoastStampers Sketch SC308

2.   Createful Heart Design Challenge #34: AG -- #1/3 I used Createful Hearts' Backyard Grill digi.

3.   Double D Challenge: Colors of Summer -- #1/3 

4.   Colour Crazy Craft Challenge Week 29: AAG w/Colouring -- #2/2 Promarkers used to color apron and all die cuts except for sun.

7.   The Paper Funday Challenge #31: AG + Opt. Summer Fun -- #1/3

8.   Cute Card Thursday #690: AG + Opt. Summer Theme -- 

9.   The Crafter's Cafe Challenge #271: AG -- #1/5 11 Challenges Max

10. TFJB Frilly & Funkie Challenge: Shimmering Summer Fun -- 10 Challenges Max