Snow Summit Layout

Day 2 of our 2019 Big Bear vacation, and my hubby took our son snowboarding. Well, my son snowboarded while my hubby went skiing, but they both had a great time, so that's what's important. I kept the layout pretty simple in keeping with the idea of fresh snow.

Recipe:
Candy Cane Lane papers (Doodlebug Designs)
Color Kaleidoscope papers (American Crafts)
Bluebird, Black & White Daisy cardstock
Juniper ink
Black marker
Snowflake & Welcome Winter stickers (recollections)
Tangled Rectangle die-cuts (Frantic Stamper)
Pattern: Stick It Down February double page sketch (from Facebook)

Challenges: Alphabet Challenge Blog V is for Volume - the snowflakes are popped up on foam; NBUS #83 - my never before used schtuff is the snowflake papers and stickers; Love Those Pretty Papers with optional polka dots (hard to see but there are some on the circles); The Outlawz Anything But a Card

It's a Wonderful Life - Vacation Mode Layout

Today I worked on a second layout for my Big Bear vacation album, this time with some fun photos of the kids playing in the snow. We took some videos of them tubing, and it made me laugh to watch them again as the kids went flying down the runs in their tubes, giggling and shrieking all the way!

Here's a close-up of the banner and buttons:

Recipe:
Red Dots & Stripes, A Perfect Winter & Have a Holly Jolly Christmas papers (Echo Park)
Snowhaven papers
Cranberry, Black & White Daisy cardstock
Cranberry, Glacier & Outdoor Demin ink
Black fineliner pen (iBayam)
Peppermint Kisses Christmas Thickers (American Crafts)
Let's Wander cardstock stickers (American Crafts)
Merry Little Christmas ephemera (Bella Blvd)
Red craft buttons
Cranberry bakers twine
Black grosgrain ribbon (Celebrate It)
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: banners
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: outline heart
Cricut Artiste cartridge: red heart
Pattern: Rochelle Spears February sketch (left side - added strip across top to coordinate with the other page)

EMS Sketch Challenge #127 (right side - added a circle to coordinate with the other page)

Challenges: Heart’s Quest Challenge Blog #82 Anything with a heart goes; Let’s Craft and Create #228 Anything goes with optional twist: from the heart; Paper Rocks Scissors #13 Anything goes but must use paper and scissors - trimmed the ends of my baker's twine and ribbon; Scrap With Stacy February board - used the middle column with Title & subtitle + Banner + Circle.

Escape {to Big Bear} Layout

My habit over the past 10+ years is to postpone scrapping vacation photos when I come to them chronologically, since they go in a separate album and I usually have a ton of pictures. However, that usually means they just don't get scrapped, so I decided, as I am done with all my other photos from March, to scrapbook the photos from our March 2019 vacation to Big Bear. Here's the intro page, and I love it because it shows off time my son spend with his dad before the rest of the family arrived in Big Bear. Elliot was entering his troubled teen years at the time and wanted very little to do with his uncool family, so it warms my heart to see him and my hubby together (even if Elliot was scowling in the photo of him with his dad)!

Recipe:
Fresh Air papers & sticker
Capri, Chocolate, Sage, Glacier & White Daisy cardstock
Capri, Toffee & Sage ink
ShinHan Touch Twin marker
Chocolate embroidery floss
Earthy Matte Dots (SU)
Frayed Burlap Distress Spritz (Ranger)
Opaque Matte Texture Paste (Ranger)
Burlap stencil (Ranger)
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: tree branch, bird, binoculars
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #91

Challenges: A Cut Above Anything Goes including a die-cut; Let’s Craft and Create #228 Anything goes; Stencil Fun Anything Goes including a stencil; Triple B Anything goes including a bird, a bloom, and/or a butterfly.

Day Dreams & Ice Cream Layout

Love these fun pictures of my kids eating ice cream with their bio-brother and his adoptive family! Getting to know them has been a huge blessing resulting from adopting Brianna and Oliver. This layout started out with a scraplift from a gal over at Scrapbook.com, but it took on a life of its own, so now I am not sure you could tell it's a lift. I had the basics down but knew I wanted to add some Tim Holtz products for the Simon Says Stamp challenge, so it was either the Field Notes ephemera or one of his stencils, and I thought the ephemera worked better. I also wanted to do some stitching, and I finally figured out this morning where to put it; I combined stitched Xs with eyelet Os on the blank label. It was a bit of a challenge as I had to alternate between a soft pad for the stitching and a hard one for the eyelet setter, and the needle kept coming unthreaded while I did that, but I like the result, so it was worth it!

Here is a close-up of the label with the XOs on it:

Recipe:
Good Day Sunshine papers & stickers (Echo Park)
Outdoor Denim & Grey Flannel cardstock
Sorbet, Cranberry, Dutch Blue & Outdoor Denim ink
Light Grey fineliner pen (iBayam)
Outdoor Denim brads & White Daisy mini brads
Navy & Red eyelets (MM)
Cranberry embroidery floss
Metal charm
Field Notes ephemera pack (Tim Holtz)
Pattern: scraplift from Shelly at Scrapbook.com
Challenges: Colorful Options Rainbow of colors; Paper Rocks Scissors #13 Anything goes, used scissors to trim the embroidery floss; Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Not a card + used Tim Holtz product; The Sisterhood of Crafters Stitching.

Fun & Games Layout

My old church used to have occasional game nights, so my hubby snapped a few photos at one of them. The level of expertise varied a lot from person to person, but we always had a great time! February seems to be hidden journaling month, because this is my third layout with hidden journaling. This time the top photo lifts up to reveal more photos and the journaling.

Here's the journaling spot:

Recipe:
Let's Stay Home & Canvas Art Workshop stamp sets
Vicki Boutin Mixed Media Stamps - Circles (American Crafts)
Magnolia & Wild Asparagus papers (MME)
Mocha, Crystal Blue, Creme Brulee & Black cardstock
Mocha, Crystal Blue & Creme Brulee ink
Burnt Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
Vicki Boutin Old Soul & Bold + Bright ephemera (American Crafts)
Summer Afternoon enamel dots (Altenew)
Lagoon washi tape
Brown grosgrain ribbon (Michaels)
Cricut Design Space: title, outline, title using Art Philosophy, BFC Night Kiss, Quarter Note, Wall Decor and More, Simply Sweet Blocked, Amertha & Artiste fonts
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #108

Challenges: A Cut Above Anything goes with a die-cut; The Outlawz Anything But a Card Anything goes; Creative Fingers Challenge Blog #316 Anything goes; Love Those Pretty Papers Anything goes with  lots of patterned paper.

Cousins Layout

My kids don't get to see their out-of-state cousins very often, so I loved scrapping these photos of this special day we spent together. If I were more technically savvy, I would add the video of the two youngest kids doing the Floss (super popular in 2019), but you will just have to imagine it! I used some really old cousins-themed paper on the background and also cut the title from a section that was covered by photos.

I popped up the top photo so I could include a pocket card with my hidden journaling.

Recipe:
Punny Pals & Notice the Details stamp sets
Vicki Boutin Mixed Media patterned paper (American Crafts)
Cousins patterned paper (It Takes Two)
Ladybug Picnic paper (source unknown, used a scrap with the manufacturer cut off)
Cranberry & Black cardstock
Cranberry, Grey Wool & Black ink
Black marker
Gold & Silver metallic pens (Staedtler)
ShinHan Touch Twin markers
Crimson watercolor paint (Artist's Loft)
Hello Darlin' PML card
Acrylic hearts
Cranberry embroidery floss
Geometric washi tape (Recollections)
Lumberjack Plaid Distress Spritz (Ranger)
Ebony Black Nuvo Drops
3-D foam tape
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: circle tab
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: ticket
Cricut Artiste cartridge: filmstrip
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #66

Challenges: Cut It Up #349 This makes me happy + die-cuts (cousins spending time together makes me happy; Heart’s Quest Challenge Blog #82 Anything with a heart goes; Little Red Wagon #845 I'm seeing Red - used red as my accent color; Neglected Stuff Challenge - the cousins paper has been in my stash so long I can't even remember where I got it, but I finally used most of one of the two full sheets I purchased; Time Out Challenges #306- I chose red, hearts and sparkle (the red distress spritz sparkles when you move the paper).

Come Fly With Me Layout

Today I scrapped some photos of kite day for my second kiddo's school album. I guess it was too long ago (2016) since he couldn't remember the name of his book buddy - oops. I probably need to finish this album this year, since it only goes up to 5th grade and he is almost 21 now!

Recipe:
Route 66 & Superhero papers
Almond, Cranberry & Moonstruck cardstock
Cranberry & Moonstruck ink
Prussian Blue fineliner pen (iBayam)
Route 66 sticker
Star Attraction & Top Dog Shape Spinkles (Doodlebug Designs)
Moonstruck & Lilac Mist embroidery floss
Chevron embossing folder
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: banners
Cricut Artistry cartridge: kite
Cricut Design Space: title using BFC Night Kiss & Medina Script fonts
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #94

Challenges:  Can You Handle the Pressure? used a chevron embossing folder; Crafter’s Café #326 Always anything goes including optional twist: one for the boys; Love Those Pretty Papers Anything goes using lots of patterned paper. with optional twist: polka dots; Paper Rocks Scissors #13 Anything goes, used scissors to trim embroidery floss.

Mini Valentine Card

Wanting to give a little love and encouragement to the ladies in my Bible study group, I spent yesterday making 14 mini Valentine's cards for them. The cards went through several iterations as I tried to figure out what I liked and had enough supplies to create, and I even "cheated" a bit when I used the plain colored back of some cardstock-weight patterned papers to cut the tags. The papers were from a 6"x6" paper pad that had been sitting in my stash for years, so I think it was a good choice to finally use them for something!

Recipe:
Background Builders & Conversation Hearts stamp sets
Topstitch papers
Cosmopolitan Embellishment papers (Making Memories)
Heavenly Blue & White Daisy cardstock
Baby Pink, Heavenly Blue, Chocolate & Cocoa ink
Heavenly Blue grosgrain ribbon
Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Artiste cartridge: heart
Pattern: Sketch-n-Scrap Card Sketch #294 (I compressed it a little to create a square card)

Challenges: Just Us Girls #809 Heart die-cut; Sweet Stampin' Love theme; Festive Friday #202 - used pink, die-cuts, square card, hearts & arrows

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #213 - I started out trying to use a solid blue heart stamp, but I couldn't get it to come out evenly, so I swapped for the mini hearts pattern, but I was originally inspired by these blue cookies!

Mission Inn LO for LM #785

Since I still have no scanner, I have been avoiding creating any double page layouts because I wasn't sure how well I could photograph them, but this week's Lasting Memories challenge pushed me over the edge to work on one of them. The challenges this month - hosted by me! - are all about journaling, and this week's challenge is to write 50+ words of journaling. For our wedding anniversary in 2019, my hubby and I stayed at an awesome hotel in Riverside, the Mission Inn and Spa, and took a bunch of photos while exploring this Historical Landmark location, so I knew I could write a lot about it. I discovered that 50 words is actually not that many, and I ended up using about 175 on this  layout!

Recipe:
Glamour Alphabet & Whooo's Your Valentine stamp sets
Perfect day papers
Juniper, Sorbet, Cashmere & White Daisy cardstock
Vellum
Juniper, Sorbet & Tulip ink
To Go Sentiments rub-on (K & Company)
Simple Vintage Essentials Butterfly Bits (Simple Stories)
Heritage stickers - silver (MAMBI)
Let's Wander stickers (American Crafts)
Juniper brads
3-D foam tape
Cricut Artiste cartridge: hearts
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #111 (left) & #5 (right)

 

Challenges: A Cut Above Anything Goes including a die-cut (mine are the hearts); Heart’s Quest Celebration of Love #2 for 2026 - remembering our anniversary trip; Inkspirational Challenges #360 XOXO - I used a heart stamp with XOs on it, plus the LO celebrates 27 years of married love;  Neglected Stuff Challenge - my neglected stuff is the circle stickers that have been in my stash since 1999, and that I haven't pulled out of my stash since before I started blogging in 2009! Triple B Anything goes including a bloom (on the patterned paper) and a butterfly (ephemera).

14 Layout

For his 14th birthday, my son just wanted to go video gaming with four friends, so I only have a couple of photos of the event, but it made a nice change from the 200 photos we took at my other kiddo's birthday party! I'm still taking photos of my layouts because I don't have a new scanner yet, so that's why half of the layout looks a lot darker than the other. I'm sure there's a technique to photographing layouts, but I haven't figured it out yet.

UPDATE:

The file folder opens up to display a journaling spot. I haven't written my journaling yet because my son needs to give me more information about his memories of the event, but I would probably have to cover up all the names anyways, so I decided to go ahead and show what it looks like with just the blank card. I also included a embossed piece of cardstock that I sanded so the words show up better; haven't tried that in a while, but I like how it turned out.

Recipe:
Vicki Boutin Mixed Media patterned paper (American Crafts)
Glacier & Lagoon cardstock
Glacier ink
Vicki Boutin Old Soul ephemera & stickers (American Crafts)
Birdsong Ephemera Bits (49 and Market)
Washi tape (Recollections)
Happy Birthday embossing folder (Cuttlebug)
Cricut Design Space: file folder
Pattern: scraplift from Lisa at Scrapbook.com
Challenges: Heart's Quest Celebration of Love #2 BEWAS themes - birthday; Can You Handle the Pressure? Anything goes with an embossing folder - I used a birthday themed one; NBUS Challenge #83 - my never before used schtuff is the washi tape; Crafter’s Café Anything goes with optional twist: one for the boys; Little Red Wagon #844 Picturing Love - I couldn't resist adding this layout to the challenge since my son not only invited his current girlfriend to his birthday celebration, but also the girl he knew was interested in him and whom he subsequently ended up dating!