Elliot's 5th Grade Portrait Layout

I'm trying hard to finish my son's elementary school album before he turns 21 this month, so here is his 5th grade school portrait layout. I plan to work on the class picture later today, but wanted to get this one in the book first. I decided to go super colorful and pulled a bunch of paper out of my box of scraps to cut the circles. I didn't even try to look up what collection each one came from, although I could have probably figured most of them out. I would rather spend the time scrapping!

Recipe:
Miscellaneous scraps from my stash
Sunflower, Candy Apply, Clover, Sky & Sapphire cardstock.
Candy Apple & Autumn Terracotta ink
Black marker
Birdsong Ephemera Bits (49 and Market)
Old Soul ephemera (American Crafts)
School puffy stickers (Recollections)
Starry Night stencil (Simple Stories)
Dot Fade layering stencil (Stampers Anonymous)
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: number photo mat, numbers
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #93

Challenges: Colorful Options - Rainbow of colors; A Cut Above - Anything goes with a die-cut; Inkspirational #362 - use stencils; Love Those Pretty Papers - used lots of pretty papers + included optional twist of circles; Stencil Fun - used a star stencil on the background and a texture stencil on the red curvy cardstock; Paper Rocks Scissors #14 - used scissors to cut the waves since I lost the blade for my survey cutter!

Fair Layout for LM #789

Design Team member Jill is hosting the challenges this month over at Lasting Memories, and she is using one of my favorite challenge forms: word play! With St. Patrick's Day coming up, Jill chose an appropriate theme for this week's challenge: use an item or technique for each letter of the word GREEN. I first went to the A-Z of Scrapping page on my blog to find items that started with those letters, and I ended up with the following list:

G - gingham paper & Great Lengths word stickers

R - rub-ons

E - ephemera

E - enamel shapes

N - nature theme

Please stop by the blog and play along with a brand new layout and your items for GREEN. It's a great opportunity to clean out some stash items (some of my items are pretty old) or even shop for something new (but don't tell anyone I told you that)!

Recipe:
Magnolia paper (MME)
The Flower Emporium Starter Paper 9 (49 and Market)
Gypsy & Kraft cardstock
Sweet Leaf, Olive, Gypsy & Desert sand ink
Burnt Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
Floral embellishments (The Paper Studio)
Monograms 2 Chippies (Mintay Papers)
Krafty Garden Essentials rub-ons (49 and Market)
Birdsong Bits ephemera (49 and Market)
Zoe sticker
Great Lengths sticker (CM)
Hello Friend Thicker (American Crafts)
Green Fields enamel heart (Altenew)
Scalloped border punch (Fiskars)
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #64

Challenges: Little Red Wagon #848 Include an animal - birds; Triple B - added birds and blooms to my layout; One More Page - so excited to add my first layout to the inaugural challenge of this new blog; Heart's Quest Challenge #83 - used 3 green enamel hearts.

Lovely Ladies Layout

I always seem to end the month with a few challenges I am rushing to complete, so here is a layout for the 30 Prompts challenge over at A Cherry on Top - a favorite memory! Knowing these wonderful ladies was a true blessing, and even though I am not in contact with most of them on a regular basis, it is always a special time when we get back together.

Recipe:
Checklist stamp set
Sarita papers
Goldrush, Lagoon, Gypsy, Espresso & Colonial White cardstock
Goldrush, Lagoon, Gypsy & Outdoor Demin ink
Gypsy & Outdoor Denim markers
Shinhan Touch Twin markers
My Happy Place, Falling for You & Love This Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug Designs)
Cricut Design Space: sombrero
Cricut Simply Sweet cartridge: title
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #127

Challenges: Heart's Quest Challenge Blog #83 - used orange hearts; The Crafter's Cafe #327 - For the Girls

Alpine Zoo Layout

I finished the last of my Big Bear vacation layouts this morning with this one of our trip to the Big Bear Alpine Zoo. It was a really fun place to visit, and my son got so excited about the animals that he donated his birthday money to "adopt" (support) a red fox. Our favorite animals were the snow leopards, Asha and Shanti, and we managed to get seats in the front row for the demonstration, so we saw them eating up close - kind of gross but cool at the same time!

As I was searching my stash for animal themed papers, I realized I have several kits that have African animals like elephants, monkeys, and giraffes, but not much in the American wildlife theme.  Fortunately, I stumbled across some BoBunny papers I purchased many years ago for a project, but then I put them away and can't even remember what they were for, so I guess I was unintentionally saving them for today!

The photo of my layout is pretty washed out, but I finally persuaded my hubby I have to get the expensive scanner for scanning my layouts, so hopefully next month's layouts will look color-correct again - woohoo!

Recipe:
Wild About Love stamp set
Take a Hike papers (BoBunny)
Grunge Rust paper (Reminisce)
Goldrush, Toffee & Colonial White cardstock
Goldrush, Toffee & Cocoa ink
Ink Blue fineliner pen (iBayam)
Heritage Stickers - Silver (MAMBI)
Color-Ready Cork Alphabet stickers
Woodgrain washi tape
Summer Afternoon & Cool Summer Nights enamel dots (Altenew)
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #109 (reversed)

Challenges: Farm Quest Challenge Blog #81 Forest baby animals (the stamped little red fox image); NBUS #83 - the BoBunny papers as mentioned above; Stencil Fun - stenciled the leopard spots in the upper right corner of my background).

Along the Shore Layout

Still working on my Big Bear vacation photos but almost done! This is a follow-up layout to my Love You So Much layout I posted on Sunday. You will notice there are no pictures of me on this layout, so my hubby eventually figured out that I was not going to smile for any more photos and he just took ones of the kids. Smart guy! I finally pulled out a collection of papers I bought from SU a while back but hadn't cut into, and I love how they look with these photos. Hope you enjoy them, too.  

Recipe:
Autumn to Remember papers (SU)
Yesterday & Today paper
Petal Pink (SU) & Saddle (CTMH) cardstock
Saddle, Chocolate, Toffee & Olive ink
Burnt Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
Yesterday & Today PML pocket card
Autumn to Remember woodgrain die-cuts & cardstock stickers
Green grosgrain ribbon (Offray)
Earthy matte dots (SU)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title, banner, scalloped border
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #33

Challenges: Cut It Up #350 By the Sea or Lake or River - I chose to scrap photos of us walking Big Bear Lake; NBUS #83 My never-before-used-stuff is the lovely Autumn to Remember patterned papers from SU; Paper Rocks Scissors #13 - used scissors to trim the ends of my ribbons.

Belt Graduation Layout

My younger kids started karate in December 2018 (Oliver) and January 2019 (Brianna), and we were so excited that they qualified for a new belt by April! Loved seeing them work hard to achieve this goal.

Recipe:
Happy Everything stamp set
Fall 2019 Mix-In paper
The Stack 4 papers (DCWV)
Color Kaleidoscope paper (American Crafts)
Hydrangea, Amethyst & Black cardstock
Hydrangea & Gypsy ink
Violet fineliner pen (iBayam)
Dream Maker stickers
Simply Vintage Butterfly Bits (Simple Stories)
Birdsong Ephemera Bits (49 and Market)
Paper crimper & corner rounder (Fiskars)
Cricut You Are Here cartridge: BELT
Challenges: Let's Craft and Create #228 Anything Goes; Little Red Wagon #847 L Is For Leftovers - I scrounged through my box of scraps to find all the purple pieces, and most of them are patched together under the dotted piece; Time Out Challenges #307 - I was already planning to do a purple layout, but when I saw this, it inspired me to find some dotted paper and use my crimper to create stripes on the skinny piece of cardstock! 

Walk Through the American Revolution Layout

My kids' elementary school does some pretty amazing history programs, including Walk Through the American Revolution, where each 5th grader dresses up as a historical figure from the period, and they work together with a facilitator to tell the story of the Revolution. My son got to be General Cornwallis, and he had to memorize some lines (not his strong suit) and answer some questions. He did a good job, and the whole presentation was really enjoyable to watch.

I was going to journal directly on my cardstock on the right hand page, but then I decided to create a replica of my son's coat using my Cricut and needed somewhere to put it, so I added a journaling card that will flip up to reveal the journaling on the back. Here's the journaling:

And here's a close-up of the coat, of which I am a teeny bit proud!

Recipe:
A Typeface stamp set
Celebrating Freedom paper (BoBunny)
The Fourth of July papers & stickers (Carta Bella)
Ruby, Almond, Mink & Black cardstock
Patterned vellum (from my stash, source unknown)
Sapphire ink
Prussian Blue fineliner pen (iBayam)
Gold metallic marker (Staedtler)
Hello Darlin' PML card
Tag Types adhesive tag (Sticko)
Blue Adornaments fiber (EK Success)
Tim Holtz Field Notes ephemera (Idea-ology)
Vicki Boutin Old Soul ephemera (American Crafts)
Halloween Mix epoxy stars (Bella Blvd)
Red Glitter Gems
Lumberjack Plaid distress spritz (Ranger)
Cricut Design Space: title using Quarter Note font, General Cornwallis coat (put together using coat and waistcoat images, then modified to look historic)
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #113

Challenges: Little Red Wagon #847 L Is For Leftovers - I used some long scraps of paper plus the enamel stars are the final bits of a pack; Neglected Stuff  Challenge- the vellum, safety pin, and metal rimmed tag.

Cruising Layout

While working on my Big Bear family vacation photos, I am not going in strict chronological order, so this layout features photos from our last day at Big Bear. I decided not to add any journaling because it will be obvious we were taking a little jaunt around the edge of the lake, and I really had nothing more to say beyond that obvious fact! For the title, I went old school and stamped then fussy cut out the letters. Haven't done that in forever because it's a bit of work, but there was a definite satisfaction in getting the cutting just the way I wanted it.

Recipe:
Rustic Alphabet stamp set
Vicki Boutin Mixed Media patterned paper (American Crafts)
Magnolia papers (MME)
Watercolor paper
Kraft cardstock
Mocha ink
Watercolor Paints (Artist's Loft)
Tim Holtz Field Notes ephemera (Idea-ology)
Color Wheel 12x12 stencil (Crafters Workshop)
Krafty Garden rub-ons (49 and Market)
Summer Afternoon enamel dots (Altenew)
Pattern: Scraplift from A Cherry on Top
Challenges: NBUS #83 - used a new package of rub-ons plus the sectioned circle stencil that I have pulled out numerous times since I bought it in 2023 but finally managed to use today; Paper Rocks Scissors #13 - used scissors to fussy cut my stamped title; Pick 3 Challenge #2 - used embellishments (ephemera & enamel dots) + flowers + circles; Stencil Fun - used watercolor paints and a sectioned circle stencil to create the big circle on the left page; Triple B - used 3 butterflies and a sprig of flowers.

Love You So Much Layout for Lasting Memories #787

It's time for another Lasting Memories challenge reveal, and this week the challenge is to use at least 2 emojis in place of words in your journaling. This sounded like fun when I was thinking up the challenges, but it turned out to be a lot harder than I expected since my new printer doesn't like printing on cardstock, so I couldn't just print something out with emojis in it. I ended up finding mini stickers that represented the words I wanted to replace, so it worked out okay! Please click on the link above to join in with any of the journaling themed challenges this month, but hurry, because the current challenges end on February 28.

Even though the journaling is all about my hubby, he is not actually pictured on the layout, so I added the arrow to point out his shadow as he took pictures of us for the millionth time. Here's a close-up of the journaling. The irony of this was that we were actually on the Kissing Bridge in Big Bear when I started to feel less than loving and needed the reminder of how much I love my sweetie!

It didn't photograph well, but my top sticker is a backpack to represent the word "pack."

Recipe:
Capri, Red Apple & White Daisy cardstock
Capri, Red Apple & Outdoor Denim ink
Black fineliner pen (iBayam)
Outdoor Denim marker
Heartstrings Sentiment Bits (Simple Stories)
Celebrating Freedom Noteworthy ephemera (BoBunny)
Reasons to Smile mini puffy stickers (American Crafts)
Face sticker (American Greetings)
Blue Jean Heart Puffy Shapes (Doodlebug Designs)
Red enamel dots
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: arrow
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #119

Challenges: Little Red Wagon #846 Just the way you are (I wasn't sure what to do for my journaling so this challenge was perfect to remind me how much I love my hubby despite the ways he sometimes bugs me!); Heart's Quest Challenge Blog #82  Anything Goes with a heart; Challenge YOUrself #146 Create a layout about love; Inkspirational #361 - I was inspired by the envelope with the heart, the flowers, the word love, and the arrow.

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