Right Now Layout

I combined a few photos of my kids in October 2018 on this layout. There wasn't room for a bunch of journaling on the front, so I plan to write a little bit on the back. However, the photo of my daughter with her red face needs some explanation: she got hit in the face with a ball at school, and although it was painful at first, we later discovered she liked the attention so much that she started putting make-up on her face to make it look like it was still red!

Recipe:
Honeycomb stamp set
Magnolia papers (MME)
Nectarine, Mocha & White Daisy cardstock
Nectarine, Ruby & Pacifica ink
Baby Blue marker (Zig)
Bold & Bright Thickers (American Crafts)
Cool Summer Night enamel dots (Altenew)
Ruby washi tape
Lumberjack Plaid Distress Spritz (Ranger)
Red ribbon (recycled from a gift)
Corner rounder
Circle Double Stitched Steel Dies (Art Impressions)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: scalloped border
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch15Apr1

Challenges: Cut It Up #337 Anything Goes including a die-cut; The Outlawz Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone

My 100th Layout for 2025 - Cuteness!

I am so excited to meet my yearly scrapbooking goal early this year, especially since I had to crank out 9 layouts in the last week of  December last year in order to make my goal of 100 layouts! These photos were especially meaningful to scrap since they involved a new addition to my two youngest kids' biological family. I covered up the names for privacy reasons, but my kids were definitely excited to meet their new half sister.

Recipe:
Framework Alphabet stamp set
Oh Happy Day papers & Stickers (Simple Stories)
Ballerina cardstock
Vellum
Ballerina, Raspberry, Canary, Juniper & Black ink
Black marker
Highlights PML card
Pink grosgrain ribbon (Michaels)
Cool Summer Nights & Summer Afternoon enamel shapes (Altenew)
Washi tape (Recollections)
Cricut Design Space: hexagons
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #14 (right side only, my third time using this sketch this month for a challenge)

Challenges: Crafter's Cafe #322 Anything Goes with option twist of patterned paper; Cut It Up #337 Anything Goes with a die-cut (hexagons); Paper Rocks Scissors - used scissors to fussy cut my title and trim the ends of the ribbon.

2 Little Pumpkins Layout for Heart's Quest Challenge Blog

This month, I was asked to be a guest designer for Heart's Quest Challenge Blog, so here is my layout with a sprinkling of orange hearts as requested. The other option is purple hearts, which would also be fun, so I may do another layout featuring purple hearts! 

Recipe:
Thoughtful Seasons stamp set
Blue Mini Page Kit (Colorbok)
Honey Butter, Slate & White daisy cardstock
Nectarine ink
Light Grey fineliner pen (ibayam)
Hopscotch PML card
Puppy Love & Falling for You Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug Designs)
Unicorn ribbon (American Crafts)
Cricut Design Space: Cat, title using BFC Night Kiss font
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #72 (rotated left)

Challenges: Let's Craft & Create #222 Polka Dots and/or stripes (used both); Neglected Stuff Challenge - the papers, tag, and vellum sentiment are from an old mini kit I last used in 2020; The Outlawz Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone

Fix Layout

I was hoping to have this layout done for the Lasting Memories Stash Busters challenge reveal yesterday, but my week got too busy, so here it is at last. I still added chipboard and acrylic for the challenge. These were rather odd photos to scrapbook, but I wanted to pay tribute to my hard-working husband, so I went ahead and chronicled how he fixed the walkway that tree roots were lifting up.

Update:

Recipe:
My Happy Place papers (Doodlebug Designs)
Wicker Lane papers (Photoplay)
Toffee & White Daisy cardstock
Pear, Juniper, Cotton Candy, Canary & Black ink
Black marker
DE Monograms chipboard
White acrylic hearts
Canary baker's twine
Mind Your Manners Fundamentals stickers (Bella Blvd)
3-D foam tape
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #73

Challenges: Little Red Wagon #821 Circle of Life - I used lots of circles; Crafter's Cafe #322 - Anything Goes including patterned papers; Paper Rocks Scissors #7 - used lots of patterned papers and cut the baker's twine with my scissors; Love Those Pretty Papers

Women's Retreat 2025 Bookmarks

Our church's women's retreat is coming up this weekend, and since I had some free time on my hands, I volunteered to make bookmarks for each lady attending. I had done this before at my old church, but we usually only had about 25 ladies, so I didn't consider how much work would be involved in making 70 bookmarks! My printer doesn't like thick paper, so I ended up printing the Bible verse on colored printer paper, stamping the designs, and then adhering it to the patterned paper before laminating it and hole punching it to add the ribbon. I made the first 25 but was already getting tired of the design, so I decided to make three iterations. Here's the first set:

And the second (2 variations since I ran out of plaid ribbon):

And the third:

And in case you, are wondering what 70 bookmarks looks like, here they all are together!

Design 1 recipe:
Love Life & Save the Date stamp sets
Meg Paisley paper (Making Memories)
Amethyst, Spring Iris, Ocean & Black ink
Lavender gingham ribbon (Michaels)

Design 2 recipe:
Tickled Pink, Bugs & Hugs, Love Life & Grown with Love stamp sets
Brown Paisley (DCWV)
Brown Bag, Mocha, Sunflower & Capri ink
Pure Brown marker (Zig)
Plaid ribbon (Berwick)

Design 3 recipe:
May Word Puzzle, Love Life & Find Your Style stamp sets
Floral paper (from my stash, source unknown)
Raspberry, Pixie & Pear ink
Plaid ribbon (Berwick)

Challenges: Paper Rocks Scissors #7 - I cut each length of ribbon in addition to trimming individual bookmarks that were a little wonky!; The Outlawz Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone - I usually submit scrapbook layouts, so I though this would be a nice change of pace.

10 Things That Make Today Great Layout

My husband and eldest son love to hike, while I love to scrapbook, so put them together and I get to scrapbook pictures of them hiking! The younger kids and I were actually part of this excursion, so I dredged up every fun thing about it that I could remember for my journaling. I may never love hiking, but spending time with my family is priceless.

Recipe:
10 Things & Forest Critters stamp sets
Pathfinding paper
Kraft, Chocolate & White Daisy cardstock
Saffron, Olive, Glacier & Chocolate ink
Burnt Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
ShinHan Touch Twin markers
Yellow paper flowers (Recollections)
Beige Adornaments fiber (EK Success)
Summer Harmony Bigger Brads
Summer Afternoon enamel dots (Altenew)
3-D foam tape
Cricut Artistry cartridge: title shape & frame
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #14 (I'm doing a challenge to use the same sketch five times, so you will be seeing this sketch again this month!)

Challenges: Little Red Wagon #820 Be Krafty (use kraft cardstock); Neglected Stuff Challenge - my neglected stuff is the two stamp sets: "10 Things" I seldom use because I'm usually too lazy to come up with 10 things, and "Forest Critter" I bought and forgot about until now; The Outlawz Festive Friday Challenge - Critters; Double Trouble #197 You're in the Spotlight - my three colors are blue, green, and yellow, and I played along with Triple B's August challenge by adding some blooms to my layout.

Our Christmas Tree Layout

Every year, we go down to Walmart soon after Thanksgiving to pick out a tree. The kids are less interested now that they are older, so I am happy to have these photos of a time when they thought this was exciting! I played along with Rochelle Spears' monthly sketch, and it was like a puzzle figuring out how all those layers fit together. I'm pretty pleased with the results, but I think I will go simple on my next layout - LOL!

Recipe:
One Wish papers (Sweetwater)
Santa's Village & The Holiday Life papers (Simple Stories)
Merry Christmas paper (from my stash, source unknown)
Cranberry, Ponderosa Pine & Colonial White cardstock
Cranberry, Saffron & Cocoa ink
Sap Green fineliner pen (iBayam)
White gel pen (Sakura)
Scrapbook Stitches Forest Green embroidery floss (Making Memories)
Jingle All The Way decorative brads and chipboard (Simple Stories)
Merry Little Christmas Ephemera Words (Bella Blvd)
The Holiday Life Journal Bits (Simple Stories)
Magic Mesh (Creative Imaginations)
Believe rub on (I had to insert a V from another set because the V in the word got crumpled up)
Swiss Dot embossing folder (Cuttlebug)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: TREE, stamps
Pattern: Rochelle Spears August sketch

Challenges: Can You Handle the Pressure? Anything Goes with an embossing folder; Cut it Up #336 Use a sentiment and a die-cut (hopefully the title, "the perfect tree," and "Merry Christmas" count as sentiments; Let's Craft and Create #222 Use polka dots and/or stripes (I used both); Love Those Pretty Papers; Scrap With Stacy August Tic Tac Toe board - I used the left column and the middle row.

Party Layout

I missed Christmas in July but decided to scrap a few Christmas events in August. Here's my first layout, using photos from my husband's work party. My kids were pretty fascinated by the guy carving the ice sculpture, but he was taking forever so we never got to see it finished because we had to get home. Unfortunately, many of my photos from this night are grainy because of the low light conditions, but at least the memory is preserved, right?

Recipe:
Very Merry Christmas & Cityscape stamp sets
Sparkle & Shine papers
Have a Holly Jolly Christmas paper (Echo Park)
Juniper, Ruby, Slate & White Daisy cardstock
Juniper, Ruby & Slate ink
Black marker
Sparkle & Shine chipboard
White organdy ribbon
Ruby baker's twine
White embroidery floss
Ruby sparkle buttons
Winter stickers (Recollections)
Silver Stickles (Ranger)
Lumberjack Plaid distress spritz (Ranger)
Christmas Tree steel die-cuts (these were a gift so I don't know the source)
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #113

Christmas Challenges: The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #189 Anything Christmas Goes; Make My Monday #258 Snow in August (Christmas); NBUS #77 - my never before used stuff is a set of Christmas tree dies that were a RAK from someone at Scrapbook.com)

Autumn Days Layout

Last week, I scrapped photos from the car show at a local park, so here is the companion page showing our visit to the pumpkin patch at the same park later that day. There is a pocket page between the two layouts with more photos from the events, so I didn't try to match the other page at all!

The bottom right picture also lifts up to reveal two more photos, one of them with my journaling on it. I wrote about the lack of clearly defined seasons in Southern California and how a visit to the pumpkin patch signals the advent of autumn.

Recipe:
Fall Favorites stamp set
A perfect Autumn & Celebrate Autumn papers (Echo Park)
Kraft cardstock
Mocha, Saddle & Nectarine ink
Chocolate pigment ink
Shin-Han Touch Twin markers
White gel pen (Sakura)
Clear embossing powder
Brown grosgrain ribbon (Michaels)
Puppy Love Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug)
Woodgrain washi tape
Autumn to Remember woodgrain die-cut & word stickers (SU)
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #121

Challenges: Heart's Quest Challenge Blog #76 Anything Goes with red and/or orange hearts; A Cut Above Anything Goes with a die-cut; NBUS #77 my never before used schtuff is the woodgrain title and the three banner/phrases under the circle, all from the SU collection Autumn to Remember

EMS Sketch Challenge #124 + The Good Stuff Layout

I didn't do a scrapbook sketch last month, so I decided it was time. We took a bunch of photos at the car show, and I managed to put some of them into a pocket page, but I needed to squeeze the remaining five onto a layout without it looking overcrowded. That was the intent behind the sketch, so let me know if I succeeded! As always, feel free to change up the sketch to suit your needs, and please leave a link to your completed layout in the comments below.

Here's the sketch:

And here's my layout:

Update:

Recipe:
You're a Classic Stamp set
Wood Grain & White Pines patterned papers
Cranberry & White Daisy cardstock
Cranberry, Ocean, Desert Sand & Black ink
Burnt Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
Charmalong key charm (Bead Landing)
Cranberry baker's twine
Puppy Love Shape Sprinkles - hearts (Doodlebug)
Magic Mesh (Creative Imaginations)
Chipboard (I know it's from CTMH but can't remember the name of the kit)
Cricut Art philosophy cartridge: photo corners
Challenges: Heart's Quest Challenge Blog #76 Anything Goes with a red heart; Little Red Wagon #818 Masculine (it's a car show, but hopefully the hearts didn't wreck the masculine vibe!); The Neglected Stuff Challenge - my neglected stuff is the nameless chipboard and the Magic Mesh, plus I used Ocean ink which has been discontinued and unused by me for many years.

Luncheon Layout for Lasting Memories #762

I love shopping my stash, so I was really excited when I saw that fellow Lasting Memories designer Wendy had decided to do a stash busting challenge this month. The first week, she has asked us to use any or all of the following: ribbons, lace, fibers. I chose to use some ribbon to make two big bows on my layout. Hopefully you decide to join us over at Lasting Memories this month to use some of the items that are piling up in your stash!

Recipe:
Hawthorne papers
Vanilla Cream, Sangria & New England Ivy cardstock
Saffron, Toffee, Sage, New England Ivy, Vineyard Berry & Sapphire ink
Prussian Blue fineliner pen (iBayam)
Wild Wheat ribbon (SU)
Cork Color-Ready Alphabet Stickers
Mocha Opaques pearls
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: banners
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #14

Challenges: Paper Rocks Scissors #7 - used the scissors to trim my ribbon ends and to fussy cut the hexagon paper; Love Those Pretty Papers - I had lots of fun fussy cutting the hexagon paper and creating the journaling pocket with folded over paper; Colorful Options - this rich color palette worked perfectly for my photos and paper!

One Fine Day in La Verne Layout

I had lived in Southern California almost my entire life when these photos were taken, and I had never seen an icon for snow in the weather app, so this was an exciting moment! I forgot to write about it in my journaling, but one weird thing about this weather was that when I went outside and looked left, the skies were bright blue with fluffy clouds, while looking to the right I only saw grey, dark skies. Hard to believe the two vertical photos below were taken within seconds of each other. 

The sparkles and Stickles are hard to see in my scan, so I took some photos with my photo to try to show them off more. Not sure if that's any better, but I tried!

Here's my journaling card that will go in the facing pocket page with five more photos.

Recipe:
Documenting the Day stamp set (SU)
Lights Aglow papers (SU)
Ponderosa Pine & White Daisy cardstock
Ponderosa Pine & Juniper ink
Sap Green fineliner pen (iBayam)
Snowflake Sticker (Recollections)
Sparkles
Star Dust Stickles (Ranger)
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: snowflakes
Cricut You Are Here cartridge: title
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #109 (rotated to the right)

Challenges: Cut It Up #335 Monochromatic plus a die-cut; Color My Heart Color Dare #662 - my extra color is green.

I'd Be Lost Without You Layout

The title of this hiking-themed layout is partially figurative and mostly literal. Since I am not a hiker and am totally directionally challenged, without my hubby, I would have been lost in the wilderness!

Recipe:
Beautiful Things stamp set
Roughing It stamp set (SU)
Rustic Trail, Wood Grain & September/October 2023 Mix-In papers
Pomegranate, Toffee & White Daisy cardstock
Pomegranate, Toffee, Espresso & Pine ink
Sap Green fineliner pen (iBayam)
Mahogany ShinHan Touch Twin marker
Irresistibles Eclectic Die-Cuts
Let's Wander stickers (American Crafts)
Everyday Moments Pocket cards (Scrapbook.com)
True Colors Floral Bits (Simple Stories)
Celebrating Freedom Noteworthy ephemera (BoBunny)
Green organdy ribbon (Offray)
Embroidery floss
Halloween epoxy stars (Bella Blvd)
Top Dog Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug)
Stripe embossing folder
Burlap layering stencil (Stampers Anonymous)
Cricut Design Space: title using A Childs Life font, birds
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Pattern: scraplift from Scrapbook.com
Challenges: Time Out Challenges #294 Pick two - I chose stars and stripes (embossed on green circle); The Outlawz Anything Goes in a Card-Free Zone; Double Trouble #196 Keep Us in Stitches - my title is definitely a play on words but not sure if it counts as a pun for the optional twist.

Hooray for Today Layout

Today's layout is a birthday one, so I dug into my stash and found some fun birthday themed papers to use along with one of my sketches. It came together pretty quickly, but then my scanner malfunctioned so I had to take photos with my phone and stitch the layout together, which is why the page on the right looks greyer than the left hand page.

Recipe:
State of Mind stamp set
It's Your Birthday papers (Echo Park)
Raven textured cardstock (Bazzill)
White Daisy cardstock
Vellum
Candy Apple, Clover Meadow & Black ink
Rainbow Acrylic Shapes - hearts
Cranberry brads
It's Your Birthday ephemera (Echo Park)
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #117

Challenges: Heart's Quest Challenge Blog #76 Orange or red hearts; Little Red Wagon #817 F is for Food (birthday cupcakes); Love Those Pretty Papers (4 fun patterned papers); The Outlawz Anything Goes in a Card-Free Zone

Golden Shrine Layout

After enjoying a relaxing week's vacation, I am back to the old routine, including finishing up a scrapbook layout that I started a couple of weeks ago but set aside because I couldn't figure out how to finish it. I had the papers selected and the pictures adhered, but hadn't managed to progress beyond that when my mojo deserted me! I pulled it out this morning and checked out some challenges, and that gave me the impetus to finish it. The photos were taken at the King Tut exhibit in L.A. several years ago and feature his golden shrine, decorated with images of everyday life for the pharaoh and his queen.

Recipe:
Land of Pharaohs paper (Stamperia)
Desert Sand, Carolina, Garnet & Colonial White cardstock
Desert Sand & Carolina ink
Ancient Egypt Ephemera book (Ruth Harding - purchased on Amazon)
Gold Shimmer Trim
Teal enamel dots
Star Punch (EK Success)
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: sunburst border
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title, postage stamp frames
Challenges: A Cut Above Anything Goes including a die-cut; Let's Craft and Create #221 Anything Goes with optional twist to use a hand punch and/or die-cut (I did both!); Paper Rocks Scissors #6 - used the scissors to cut the ends of the gold shimmer trim banners.

SVK Layout for Lasting Memories #760

Today's Lasting Memories challenge gave me a chance to get nostalgic about a much loved but now defunct scrapbooking company: Close to My Heart. Jill was asking us to create a layout using a favorite brand or designer, and CTMH has long been a favorite for me. I was so sad when they went out of business a couple of years ago, but fortunately, I have enough of their products to last me for the next ten years! What about you?  If you have a favorite designer or brand or company, feel free to hop on over to Lasting Memories and share a layout using lots of their products.

Recipe (unless noted, all products are from CTMH):
Connections, Washi Wonder, Chantilly, Take Note & Picture Perfect stamp sets
Splendor papers
Canary, Candy Apple & White Daisy cardstock
Goldrush, Canary, Candy Apple, Topiary & Black ink
Black marker
Ruby Red fineliner pen (iBayam)
DE Monograms chipboard S, V, K
Red enamel hearts
Dot Fade layering stencil (Stampers Anonymous)
Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: notepaper
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch17Mar

Challenges: Heart's Quest #75 Anything Goes with red or blue heart); Can You Handle the Pressure? Anything goes with an embossing folder - I used one to add dots to the red circles; Colorful Options July - I used the four suggested colors, although my green is a little darker like in the photo.

Pre-Historic Days Layout

There has been a definite downturn in my scrapping mojo over the past week, but I finally decided to temporarily shelve the layout I was working on and move on to something that would inspire me more! Dinosaurs and rocks - who knew that would do the trick? LOL. These photos from the Natural History Museum were taken on the same day and location as the ones on the butterflies layout I posted last week, but with a vastly different theme. Mixed media is a bit of a challenge for me, but I tried to create a scene that look vaguely ancient, then added the die-cut frame and dinosaurs to it. The stamped "trees" on the right are actually flower silhouettes, but hopefully they came across as savanna-type trees when used in conjunction with  the dinosaurs.

Here's the background. I used a really old (but not pre-historic!) stencil for the hills, with a little bit of extra stenciling for texture, and then I stamped the trees and sun.

Recipe:
Treasure Life stamp set
Vicki Boutin Mixed Media Stamps - Circles (American Crafts)
Heavenly Blue, Topiary, Kraft, Goldrush, Pewter, Espresso, Pine & White Daisy cardstock
Goldrush, Desert Sand, Brown Bag, Sweet Leaf Fern & Topiary ink
Goldrush pigment ink
Dot Fade layering stencil (Stampers Anonymous)
Scenic Borders stencils (Puzzle Mates)
Cricut Design Space: dinosaurs (from Erika Digital Design and GlamSVG by Emylia), grass, title (using A Child's Year font)
Pattern: Sketch-n-Scrap #318 (adapted for my mixed media-background, but I promise the sketch is where I started!)

Challenges: Neglected Stuff July 2025 - my stuff is the hills stencil that I haven't used since I started blogging in 2009, and the flower stamp;  NBUS #76 - my never before used item is the Vicki Boutin stamp set I used for the sun, the circle spots, and the adventure sentiment.

Blissful, Beautiful Butterflies Layout

My hubby took two sets of photos during our family visit to the Natural History Museum in 2018: the butterfly enclosure and then everything else. I decided to scrap the butterfly photos first since I had the title idea and wanted to run (fly!) with it.

The sentiment at the bottom left is a little washed out in my scan, so here's a close up of it.

Recipe:
Alphabet Solos "B," Pen Pal Alphabet, Bugs & Hugs, Smiles From the Garden & Diverse Backgrounds stamp sets
Goldrush, Thistle, Garden Green, New England Ivy & White Daisy cardstock
Goldrush, Thistle, Garden Green & New England Ivy ink
Thistle Diagonal Striped ribbon
Smiles From the Garden Thin Cuts
Messy Circles layering stencil (Amazon)
Challenges: Triple B July challenge - I included lots of butterflies and a few blooms; The Outlawz Tuesday Color Challenge - I used all the colors.

Double Trouble #195 - my three colors are Goldrush, Thistle, and Green, my two stamped images are the butterflies, and my sentiment is down at the bottom left. I stamped some splatters on the background cardstock but it's not shiny, so not sure if it counts for the twist!