My First Place Win

I am very proud to say that I won the June Sketch Contest at my local scrapbooking store!! The usual end to the contest fell during the July 4th rush and I didn't hear from them so, I assumed for the longest time that I had lost but, to my happy surprise, they had just not contacted the winners yet. Here's my entry:

I worked off of this sketch:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150198295004523&set=a.212634019522.128306.134485994522&type=1&theater

I used the Cricut Old West and Yee Haw cartridges (that I got FOR FREE at the Texas Stampede - gotta love that!) I spent more time layering the cowgirl images from the Yee Haw cartridge than I wanted to but I really wanted a specific look to them. It meant cutting the layers several times and then cutting them up & using bits of each to create the right look.

My favorite part of this layout is the matching bling I added to the hat in my daughter's shadow in this photo. I also really like the colors of the photos. I used an editing effect in iPhoto on my Mac called, 'Antique,' to make them look more vintage, which muted the reds and softened the-too bright sunlight.

I used my trusty iRock for the bling and even used it on some iron-on bling intended for use on clothes. I used silver metal squares as nail studs on the wagon wheel. They're about 1/4 inch tall so they took a few extra seconds for the iRock to heat up the glue but it worked! You can see one in the upper left of the above photo. I can't remember what brand they are; they're meant to be ironed onto jeans. I got them on clearance at JoAnn's last year. The only caution I have is to not press down hard, (I flattened a few studs,) but just let the iRock do its job. I'm going to pull a few other types out of my stash and try them out on scrap paper. Nice to have an avenue for a wider variety of bling and not be stuck with just round ones found in the scrapbooking aisle.