Discover {Tower Bridge} Layout for Lasting Memories #779

I haven't scrapped any London photos in ages, so I decided to complete at least one from our 2017 vacation. This time, it was Tower Bridge. Since the Lasting Memories challenge for December is to play along with either a favorite challenge we want to do again or a challenge we missed but would still like to do, I played along with #759 - Jill's Favorites: Embellishments. I absolutely love using die-cuts on my layouts, so here I added three: the title, the sun, and the cloud. Hope this inspires you to check out some of the fun challenges we had this year and play along this month!

I also had fun coloring in the black and white line drawing on the cool background paper!

Recipe:
London Tower Bridge Adventure paper (Scrapbook Customs)
Striped paper (from my stash, source unknown)
Canary, Black & White Daisy cardstock
Sky & Ruby ink
Black & Flourescent Blue fineline pen (iBayam)
ShinHan Touch Twin markers
Love Letters rub-ons
Sparkle Black enamel dots (Eyelet Outlet)
Cricut Design Space: title (using DTC Spring Break font)
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: sun
Cricut Artiste cartridge: cloud
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #125 (left side only)

Challenges: Paper Rocks Scissors #10 - used scissors to trim the Y off my title when I changed it from discovery to discover!

Christmas Concert Layout with HQCB Guest Design Opportunity

I'm still working on some Christmas layouts from 2018, and it seemed that there were lots of musical events that year; this one features photos from when my son sang in a Christmas concert at his school.

I was invited to be the guest designer for Heart's Quest Challenge Blog, which offers two options for their challenges. Here are the options for the current challenge:

I chose to use the first option of anything with a heart goes, and used black hearts, a large one and three small puffy ones. I'm going to try to do the other options, too, because it goes well with Christmas layouts, and I also have a Valentine's layout coming up that I might manage to squeeze in as well!

Recipe:
Jingle Joy & Journaling Jots stamp sets
The Holiday Life papers (Simple Stories)
Garden Green & White Daisy
Ruby & Black ink
Black marker
Jingle Joy Thin Cut
Jingle Joy tags
Peeled Paint Distress Spritz (Ranger)
Candy Apple Shimmer Trim
Ruby twine
Beetle Black Hearts puffy shapes (Doodlebug Designs)
Red Dot Essentials washi tape (Echo Park)
Dymo label
Winter Trees embossing folder (Cuttlebug)
Pattern: Sketch-n-Scrap #322

Challenges: Can You Handle the Pressure? Anything Goes with an embossing folder; Let's Craft and Create #225 Anything Goes with optional twist of twine; Love Those Pretty Papers Anything Goes with patterned paper and optional twist of forest critter (I included a bird); NBUS #80 - my never before used schtuff is the Christmas metal die and matching stamp, and the Jingle Joy tags.

Rubio's Layout for Lasting Memories #778

It's our final Lasting Memories challenge for November, and I have thoroughly enjoyed being inspired by children's books. This week's book, Madeline, might be a little less well known than some of the others, but it was one of my favorites as a little girl. I loved the fun rhymes and the mix of line drawings and painting. For my inspiration, I pulled a bunch of things: the colors on the cover (plus yellow is prominently featured inside) and the repetition of the 2 straight lines, which inspired me to add the green lines with the 'hats" on them. Even though the hats have nothing to do with my pictures, I think they look like a design feature, so I am going with that! I also used a name as my title and added a line from the book. If you are interested in playing along with this challenge, click on the link above, plus here is a link to the text and pictures of Madeline, just in case you want to revisit an old friend or make a new one!

And here's the cover of Madeline. Don't you love the artwork? You can see where my hat inspiration came from, too.

Recipe:
Watercolor paper (Recollections)
Vicki Boutin Mixed Media paper (American Crafts)
Terracotta Ribbon Plaid paper (Making Memories)
Gypsy, Green Apply, Canary, Black & White Daisy cardstock
Gypsy & Green Apple ink
Black marker
Warm Grey ShinHan Touch Twin marker
Flower ribbon (Ribbon Boutique)
Yellow paper flowers (Recollections)
Warm & Cozy enamel dot (Altenew)
Cricut Design Space: title (using Artiste font), circles border & Vs
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #116

Challenges: Cut It Up #343 Favorite color and use a die-cut - yellow is my favorite color but I look terrible in it, so I am happy to be able to use it in my scrapbooking; A Cut Above Anything goes with a die-cut; The Outlawz Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone with optional theme of That's Tasty - Rubio's is a family favorite for dining!

Totally Tasty Layout

For a challenge I host over at Scrapbook.com, I am using the same sketch four times, so if this layout design looks familiar, it's the same one I used on two other layouts, except I turned it upside down. It's fun to see if you can get a unique look out of the same sketch when using it so close in time. I also had help from several other challenges that inspired me to add items, so check out the list below to see who inspired me.

Recipe:
Vicki Boutin Mixed Media paper (American Crafts)
Clover Meadow, Capri, Lemonade, Paprika & White Daisy cardstock
Clover Meadown, Capri, Sunny Yellow, Paprika & Smoothie ink
Clover Meadow marker
Paradise Assortment baker's twine
Hearts & Flowers sticker border (MAMBI)
Cool Summer Night enamel dots (Altenew)
Opaque Matte Texture Paste (Ranger)
Burlap stencil (Ranger)
Cricut Artiste cartridge: title
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tags
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: frame, stars
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge 111

Challenges: Let's Craft and Create #225  Anything Goes with option twist: twine; Stencil Fun - I didn't use the optional twist of gold, but the stencil I used reminded me of the patterning on a turtle's back, so it really worked for my theme; Neglected Stuff  - mine is the yellow border sticker that has probably been in my stash for 20 years; The Outlawz Anything Goes in a Card-Free Zone with optional twist: That's Tasty; Scrap With Stacy November Tic Tac Toe Board - used the middle column with Twine + Tag + Sticker and the diagonal with Die cuts + Tag + Dots.

Magic Moments Layout

As part of our 2018 visit to Las Vegas, my family spent the afternoon of Christmas strolling down the strip, just being tourists. Okay, maybe we did a little shopping, and we definitely stopped for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Fun times, and when my daughter saw me scrapping these photos, she exclaimed, "I want to go back there!" so it obviously wasn't just me who enjoyed it.

The top left photo lifts up to reveal two more photos and more journaling. Here's the one with the journaling:

Recipe:
The Holiday Life papers (Simple Stories)
Kraft cardstock
Tulip ink
The Holiday Life cardstock stickers & journal bits (Simple Stories)
Ho Ho Ho puffy stickers (American Crafts)
Dymo label tape
Snowflake ribbon (from my stash, source unknown)
Lumberjack Plaid Distress Spritz (Ranger)
Challenges: Challenge YOUrself #143 A favorite family memory including a picture of me; Unicorn Challenge Blog #115 Christmas/Winter; Park Hopping My Happy Place - I was inspired by the shopping theme, and Las Vegas is pretty close to being a theme park! 

Inspiration Station  #79 - I was inspired by the flowers and the colors of the photo.

A Little Something Awesome Layout

We spent Christmas 2018 with my brother and family in Las Vegas, and although I wrote in my journaling that camels and snow in LV were unusual, who am I kidding? I'm pretty sure that is tame compared to  the usual spectacles this crazy town has to offer - LOL! I don't use gold paper very often in my scrapbooking, but the Modern Christmas papers from SU made it too easy, so I put the starry night ones at the top and bottom of the layout with my photos and embellishments sandwiched in between. The sequins are actually green, but I noticed the photo makes some of them look gold. I could have color corrected but I was feeling lazy, so I left them as is. 

Recipe:
Modern Christmas paper (SU)
Kraft, Mocha & White Daisy cardstock
Mocha ink
Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
Heartfelt Wonder felt die cuts
Ruby Mini-Medley accents - clothes pins & poinsettias
Doily and green sequins (from my stash, source unknown)
Simple Vintage Essentials foam title stickers (Simple Stories)
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #110

Challenges: Let's Craft and Create #225 Anything Goes with optional twist of twine (not sure if the fiber I used qualifies as twine because it's pretty thick);  Crafter's Cafe #325 Anything Goes with optional twist of yellow or gold; Time Out Challenges #301 Favorite holiday to celebrate - mine is Christmas; Unicorn Challenges #115 Christmas or winter; Color My Heart Color Dare #678 - used three shades of brown plus black, white, and metallics, and my 2 additional colors are red and green.

4th Grade Open House for Lasting Memories #777

Is it okay to say I am loving this month's challenges for Lasting Memories, even though I am the one who picked them out? LOL! They are all based on children's picture books, and this week the book is the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I love the bright colors on the cover, and my kids always loved the holes in the book, so I used both of those as inspiration (holes are the scalloped borders with holes in them). I also included a butterfly and, since I didn't have a caterpillar, I used a bookworm  instead because it was as close as I could get. We would love to have you join us over at Lasting Memories to inspire us with your take on this or any of the picture book challenges!

Here's the book cover:

And I also found a photo of my son in kindergarten when they voted on their favorite Erik Carle book, and he chose this book. Nothing to do with the layout except it's the same kiddo!

Recipe:
Captured Happiness stamp set
I Can Count paper (Reminisce)
Kraft, Candy Apple & White Daisy cardstock
Candy Apple, Canary & Chocolate ink
Moonstruck marker
Acrylic Shapes
School Is Cool ephemera icons (Bella Blvd)
DE Booksmart chipboard
Topiary brads
Cricut Design Space: title using A Child's Year font
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #125 - I adapted it a little since I only had vertical photos and wanted to use a big piece of the number paper

Challenges: Neglected Stuff - used the number paper which has been in my stash forever, and the bookplate labels which are newer but still neglected for a long time; Paper Rocks Scissors #10 - used scissors to cut the paper behind the yellow heart outline.

Pharaoh's Shopping List? Layout

When we went to the King Tut exhibit in 2018, we took a ton of pictures, so every once in a while, I go back to get a few more scrapped. For these ones featuring some of the jewelry found in his tomb, I wanted to do something different from my other Tut layouts, so I grabbed some washi tape in bright colors to make the striped piece on the side, and then pulled some matching cardstock to make the mosaic frame. The title and journaling was inspired by a challenge about shopping over at Park Hopping My Happy Place; it got me wondering how Tut selected his jewelry, so I wrote about that. The jewelry ephemera was a late addition, and I'm not sure I love it, but it's okay because it feels good to conquer another page!

Recipe:
Slice of Life paper (American Crafts)
Sapphire, Crystal Blue, Honey Butter, Raspberry & White Daisy cardstock
Sapphire, Crystal Blue, Honey & Desert Sand ink
Prussian Blue fineliner pen (iBayam)
Washi tape (Recollections)Ancient Egypt Ephemera book (Ruth Harding - purchased on Amazon)
Heavenly Blue organdy ribbon
Heart punch (Ek Success)
Tim Holtz Dot Fade stencil (Stampers Anonymous)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: circle tag
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #111

Challenges: Heart's Quest Challenge Blog #79 Anything goes with brown or yellow hearts; Park Hopping My Happy Place inspired by shopping theme!

Another Year Older Layout for Lasting Memories #776

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am hosting the Lasting Memories challenges this month, and my theme is children's picture books. Today's book features one of my son's favorites characters: Pete the Cat. I already scrapbooked a layout of him with a Pete the Cat book, so I couldn't use that photo, so I decided to go with the bright colors on the cover and added some buttons. We would love to see how this book inspires you, so please click on the link above to get all the details on how to submit your layout.

Here's the book cover:

And I couldn't resist adding the photo of my son with his Pete the Cat book that he got at McDonalds!

Recipe:
Sweet Safari papers & PML card
Bluebird, Candy Apple, Sundance & Black cardstock
Bluebird, Candy Apple & Espresso ink
Burnt Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
White gel pen (Sakura)
Red ribbon (Offray)
My Happy Place Shape Sprinkles - hearts (Doodlebug Designs)
Craft buttons (from my stash, source unknown)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: frame
Cricut Design Space: title using BFC Night Kiss font
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #111 (reversed)

Challenges: Colorful Options - rainbow of colors; Crafty Calendar - add a button; Heart's Quest Celebration of Love #11 - birthday theme.

Where the Wild Things Are Layout

I'm hosting the challenges this month over at Lasting Memories, and I thought it would be fun to use picture books as inspiration. Unfortunately, I couldn't get my act together in time to finish a layout for the first challenge, but I want to play along with all the challenges, so here is mine for Where the Wild Things Are. These photos of my daughter and her friends being goofy seemed perfect for the title, and I tried to pick up some of the colors from the artwork, as well as including one of Max's monsters. The title was a real challenge since it was hand lettered and never digitized, but I ended up scanning the cover and editing it in Cricut Design Space to remove all the fuzziness until I ended up with a sharp enough outline to cut. Lots of work, but I love how it turned out. Hopefully you are inspired to come on over and see the design team's inspiration and then create your own layout for the challenge!

Here's the book cover that inspired me:

Recipe:
Twitterpated papers
Mocha, Sorbet, Sweet Leaf, Slate & White Daisy cardstock
Mocha, Sorbet & Sweet Leaf ink
Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
Sweet Safari PML card
My Crush Bestie Assortment stickers
Bon Bon & Blue Jean Heart puffy stickers (Doodlebug Designs)
Sorbet grosgrain ribbon
Googly eyes (from my stash, source unknown)
Cricut Design Space: title, monster, palm leaf overlay, banners
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #75

Challenges: A Cut Above anything goes with a die-cut;  Heart's Quest Challenge Blog #79 - used brown hearts; Love Those Pretty Papers - my forest critter is the monster from the book, although maybe he's more of a jungle critter, not sure since he's imaginary!; Paper Rocks Scissors #10 - used scissors to trim the ribbon and cut some rough edges off of the monster.