Designs by Latisha Yoast

I have not played along with a sketch challenge in a while, so today I check out the sketch over at CPS . Clean, simple & perfect. I can do this. CPS sketch #182 This week was beyond crazy! My kids were/are sick. A friend was having labor pains, so I took her to the hospital, but she was just a little dehydrated & tired. Taxi mom, bringing kids to and from school & sports. Allergies...fun times. Trying to find a sectional that fits my living room...harder than it seems. So glad a new week is starting. So using a sketch makes it extremely easy to start a card, the hard part has been done for you.  For this card, I decided to use the School Basics set from Mint Motif.  The lined paper stamp, coordinated really well with the sheet of school paper from the Cosmo Cricket Togetherness Mini Deck.  The heart pattern paper is also from the same paper pack.  The black strip of paper is actually this cool paper called chalkstalk tile card stock, it is really cool....

Late in the late afternoon yesterday, I went to check my mail and to my surprise there were two sets of the new large format dies from Spellbinders, sitting in my mailbox.  Let me rephrase, I had two packages of the Grand Nestabilities , which were the Grand Ovals and the Grand Scalloped Ovals .  I may have done a little jiggity jig dance when I held them in my hands.  I know that sounds crazy, but you, the paper crafter reading this has done that same giddy dance after receiving awesome product in the mail, it is like Christmas.  Sometimes I think I may be half crazy for getting excited over paper & ribbon, but at least I am in the crazy boat with a bunch of fun people right!  Anyhow, so after I opened the package, I was in instant agony because I knew I couldn't play right away :( super sad right?  After a major thunderstorm, parents cross country meeting at the high school, errands, dinner, homework, showers & finally putting the kids to bed. ...

Have you picked up the Sept/Oct issue of Paper Crafts? If you love fall & all things Halloween, this is the issue for you. There are some AMAZING projects within these pages. Here is one of my cards that is in this issue. Except in the issue, there is no ribbon, I just forgot to take a picture without the ribbon before I sent it off. Materials Used: Ivory Card stock Basic Grey Bloomer Technique Tuesday stamps foam tape Spellbinders S5-006 Curved Rectangles Nestabilities Spellbinders I2-1009 Flourish Impressabilities Memento ink

What a week it has been in the Yoast home!  It has been a wild ride of emotions for sure.  To start the week off on Monday, my children started the 9th & 4th grades.  Nothing screams "You are getting old Latisha!" more than your child entering High School.  So that was fun.  I so clearly remember being in High School and starting the 9th grade, so it is very weird when you realize your child has grown up overnight.  How does that happen?  Both of them are sad that summer is over, but so happy school has started.  They get to have their social lives back.  Here are a few snap shots I took of them on the first day of school.  They seem so happy to get their pictures taken ha!  They have been in school a while now, and should know the yearly ritual of Mom taking a bajillion-squillion pictures, basically a lot! The next few pictures are not the best quality, they were taken with my iphone when it was starting to storm out side, an...

Today, I am participating in the Lawn Fawn {heart's} Cards for Kids blog hop. For more information on Cards for kids, click here . Jennifer McGuire is doing a great thing for terminally ill children and their families! Even if you are not a participant today, please consider sending a few cards. Just remember to keep your cards a little more simple, not heavily embellished, it is more cost effective for shipping. If you just came from Shemaine's blog you are in the right spot. Your next stop is Dee Dee's blog . I wanted my cards to be fun, bright & cheery. To me nothing says that more than using the Pixie-liscious line from Cosmo Cricket & Lawn Fawn stamps.  I used Bannerific & Sophie's Sentiments, to create the banners.  Each card is 4 inches square, with a 1 1/2 x 4 inch strip of pattern paper adhered to the front.  I then stamped the image/sentiment onto ivory card stock, fussy cut the banners out & adhered them to the card with foam tape.  To...

I am playing along with the Waltzingmouse August waltz.  The theme was to make a shabby chic/vintage style card.  When I think of that style, distressing, creams, pinks, reds, and muted green/blueish colors come to mind.  I used some Melissa Frances paper that I recently picked up, which is always so shabby chic!  Paired it with some ivory card stock, lace, polka dotted satin ribbon and my lovely Waltzingmouse stamps.  I inked the edges of the card stock to give it an aged look.  I cut/embossed the Spellbinders S4-301 Labels Sixteen Nestabilities, then stamped the images onto it.  Make sure to visit the Waltzingmouse forum to see the list of participants! Materials Used: Waltzingmouse Stamps Spellbinders Labels Sixteen Nestabilities Ivory Card stock PTI ribbon pink button twine Melissa Frances Kitschy Kitchen pattern paper corner rounder palette ink

Hello there! I am always trying to find new ways to utilize my scrap card stock and pattern paper to the fullest.  If you are like me, you cut a sheet of card stock in half, then sometimes that other half really never gets used, or it goes into the large & in charge scrap basket that you forget you have.  Sound familiar?  Yep, I feel a little wasteful, but I hope to change that!  Today, I have a quick tutorial on how I used a 4 1/4" x 11 inch sheet of card stock, to die cut all five sizes of the Spellbinders S4-290 Labels Fourteen using the Spellbinders Grand Calibur machine .   Let's get started! Take out your Grand Calibur Now remember this machine can take paper 8 1/2 in by 11 inches. Is light weight, only 7 pounds. Is extremely easy to use.  Your sandwiches go through it smooth like buttah! Place the dies of your choice, onto the base plate.  I chose the Spellbinders Labels Fourteen set. Place your 4 1/4 inch x 11 inch sheet of card st...

Today the School Basics set from Mint Motif will be available to purchase, from i{heart}papers of course! I am sharing another card that I made with this set.  I was inspired by a memory I had of doodling on my school paper in Jr. High.  Being a teenager in the 80's, I never would have thought all of those trends would ever be back.  But they are, and in a big way.  Silly bands are just a reinvention of the colored plastic bracelets we wore.  The long tunics and stretchy pants.  Anyhow, I digress, back to the card hee! I have a 6x6 pad of the Basic Grey Basics pattern paper, so I took a piece out, and punched along the top, to create notebook paper.  I stamped the solid image apple, and the handwriting lines in red ink.  Then I created the sentiment and stamped it inside the lines.  I wanted to have it kind of look like, that I was writing the sentiment with a pencil.  I stamped the pencil & colored it in with copic markers, then I ...

I am sneaking a set called Heebie Jeebies from Lawn Fawn . This is a mini stamp set, but so perfect for your Halloween projects. I don't send out many Halloween cards, but I do like to make party favors, cute tags, and decorate things for when we "boo" our neighbors.  I take that back, I do make treats for my children's classrooms for their Halloween parties.   Kelly is going to be giving this stamp set away, so head on over to the Lawn Fawn blog .  All three of August's sets will be available on the 12th.  I have a feeling these sets are going to be a big hit.  Lawn Fawn really hit the nail on the head with the banner set, especially since banners are so trendy right now. For more Heebie Jeebie goodness, visit the rest of the design team: Ashley Cannon Newell Jessica Rosario Lynnette Kauffman Mariana Grigsby Sarah Martina Parker Tiffany Johnson Materials Used: Lawn Fawn Heebie Jeebies stamp set Spellbinders S4-290 Labels Fourteen Cosmo Cricket Matilda...

Day two of the Lawn Fawn August Sneak Peaks. Again today, I am showing you a card using Bannerific & Sophie's Sentiments stamp sets. I have this super cute We R Memory Keepers pattern paper, that was begging to be used. It is super cute with all of the helicopters, planes and clouds. So I decided to make a more masculine card, that would be perfect for the favorite man/boy in your life. I paper pieced the banner onto the "b" side of the paper, and popped it up using foam tape, and rounded the corners to soften it up a bit.  The birds were colored in with copic markers, and popped up with foam tape on the edges of the banner.  It is really hard for me to make a card without using ribbon, so I added twine instead. Go visit the Lawn Fawn Blog , for a chance to win these sets. For more inspiration head on over to the rest of the designers blogs: Ashley Cannon Newell Jessica Rosario Lynnette Kauffman Mariana Grigsby Sarah Martina Parker Tiffany Johnson

Today I get to show a sneak peak for Lawn Fawn . In this card I used two stamps sets called Bannerific and Sophie's Sentiments. Banners are all the rage right now, and Bannerific will not disappoint you! For my card, I used some new Cosmo Cricket paper and chipboard called Togetherness.  I just thought the banners would look so cute in this paper.  I stamped the banner onto white paper, paper pieced it with alternating Togetherness pattern paper and then cut it out.  To give the card some dimension, I popped the banner up with foam tape.  I just love these mini clothesline clips from Hero Arts, so I clipped them onto the card, and tied some twine around them.  The chipboard birds are also from the Togetherness line from Cosmo Cricket.  The sentiments at the bottom are from the Sophie's Sentiments set also being released this month from Lawn Fawn.  These sentiments can fit perfectly into most of the banners from Bannerific, perfect right? Make sure you ...

Today I get to show a sneak of the newest release from Mint Motif called School Basics. (Mint Motif stamps are sold exclusively through iheartpapers ) This is such a wonderful set, and will fill a void in my stamp supply. My children start school next week, so I made this envelope and card to give to my son's future teacher.  I don't know if he has a male or female teacher, so this set had to be pretty simple, just in case his teacher is a dude.  I have these great manilla envelopes, and I knew I wanted to incorporate the envelope in my project somehow.  So I started to decorate and finish the envelope before I started on the card.  I stamped the elementary style lined paper stamp, a few times in Memento ink, then stamped the sentiment.  Each of the words is by itself, so you can be really creative with the sentiment you can create.  The apple stamp was colored in using Copic Markers (R14, R24, R29, YG13 & YG17).  To get the watermark look on the e...

Do you ever just get into a creative funk, and nothing you make quite looks right? I was in one of those.  It could be that I am missing my husband, or that the 100+ heat we are having is draining me.  However, I decided to play along with this weeks sketch #58 by the lovely Kazan over at 2sketches4you .  Using a sketch can really get your mojo going, I highly suggest using them.  Plus over at 2s4u, they normally have a wonderful sponsor with great prizes.  Go check it out! I never ever, ever, have enough birthday cards.  So, if I have the chance I will always make extra to have in my stash.  I used some newer things on this card, the July release from Mint Motif called Cake Shoppe, some Togetherness pattern paper from Cosmo Cricket & the Spellbinders Labels 14, and those cute clothes pins from Hero Arts.  Using new things always helps my creativity.  After I stamped the image, I colored it in using Copic markers (R14, R24, R29, &35, ...

Last week a box arrived from Paper Crafts, and inside of the box was my prize package from being in the top 20 Gallery Idol contest.  Little Yellow Bicycle was extremely generous, so I thought I would play a little bit.  Every thing used was pre-made, all I did was adhere it to my card.  Most of the items are primarily for scrap bookers, but if you look beyond the product, it is fabulous for card making as well.   I think I am going to use this card to send to my husband, and insert pictures of my children from the first day of school.  I know it has some pink on it, but I think the grey and yellow are pretty masculine.  More importantly it is the thought that matters, and my husband isn't going to care lol, he will just be happy to get mail. I can see myself remaking the circle with other product I have.  I can cut/emboss a circle using my Spellbinder die templates, create a fun circular image inside the circle using Just Right stamps, a fun sentiment...

The days and weeks leading up to CHA (Craft & Hobby Association), I was really busy working on projects for different booths.  What this left me was a huge mess, and a ton of scraps.  If it is a nice card stock or a pattern paper, I try to find a use for it.  I had a small scrap of kraft paper left, and if you love kraft card stock like I do, there is no way you are getting rid of it.  Looking at the scrap paper, I could tell it was just big enough to make a few tags, but too small to make a card, so I went with the tags. The paper was 4 1/4 x 8 inches, so all I needed to do was trim the tags to a length that I liked.  I went with 2 1/4 in width by 4 1/4 long.  Now this next part was just pure luck.  As I was trying to figure out what stamps to use (because I new I would use the MME So Sophie pattern paper), I grabbed my Cake Shoppe Too stamps from Mint Motif (sold through iheartpapers ).  I took a look at the bottom layer of the largest cak...