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!

EMS Sketch Challenge #127 + B-Day Breakfast Layout

I hadn't created a new sketch yet this year, but Sharon over at Splitcoast Stampers asked for one for the virtual crop (VSBN) they are having this month over there, so here's what I came up with. After I finished it, I realized it features 4 vertical photos just like my last sketch, but hopefully the simplicity will  appeal to those who didn't want to add all the banners next to the photos! Feel free to rotate it, flip it, use different sized photos, or just use it as is, but be sure to share your layout in the comments below. And we would love to have you play along with the crop at Splitcoast; it's easy and free to sign up for an account, and there are 7 love-inspired challenges to help you get some scrapping done.

Here's the sketch:

And here's my layout:

Recipe:
Noted Backgrounds, Hodgepodge Alphabet, You & Me, Love Life & Whooo's Your Valentine stamp sets
Field Trip papers (American Crafts)
Pet Shoppe Cat paper (Simple Stories)
Candy Apple, Toffee & White Daisy cardstock
Candy Apple, Capri, Outdoor Denim & Honey ink
Prussian Blue fineliner pen (iBayam)
Monograms 2 Chippies (Mintay Papers)
My Happy Place Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug Designs)
Cool Summer Night enamel dots (Altenew)
Red Dot Essentials washi tape (Echo Park)
Seagull decorative scissors (Fiskars)
Cricut Artiste cartridge: hearts
Challenges: Heart’s Quest Challenge Blog #82 Red and/or gold hearts; Crafter’s Café #326 Anything goes with optional twist: one for the boys; The Outlawz Anything But a Card Anything goes.

One True Love Layout

My hubby and I seldom go out to dinner on Valentine's Day because the restaurants are crowded and the service is usually very slow. Instead, we wait a day or two and then go out to celebrate, as we did in these photos. For some reason, the photo my hubby took of me had lots of issues with focus, but it's the only one I had of me from that evening, so I decided to try to rescue it using AI. It's still not perfect, but much better than the original. Glad AI is useful for something other than kids plagiarizing essays. LOL! I created the leaf paper on the left using stamps and a stencil, something I rarely do, but I like the result here.

Recipe:
Something Splendid & Background Elements stamp sets
Vicki Boutin Mixed Media patterned paper (American Crafts)
Dusty Rose Sunflower paper (Keeping Memories Alive)
Mini Powder Curtain paper (Chatterbox)
Burgundy floral paper (SU)
Sangria, Black & White Daisy cardstock
Pomegranate, Blush, Wisteria & Bamboo ink
Versamark ink (Tsukineko, Inc.)
Gold embossing powder
Dot Fade stencil (Stampers Anonymous)
To Go Sentiments rub-on (K & Company)
Heart brads (from my stash, source unknown)
Paper crimper (Fiskars)
Cricut Design Space: Love, heart
Pattern: Sketches in Thyme #694 from Facebook

Challenges: Cut it Up #348 My Heart - I used Design Space to cut the word love that has a heart in it; Heart's Quest Challenge Blog #82 Gold Hearts; Krafty Chicks #805 Anything Goes with embossing - I wet embossed the word love in my title using a stamp, Versamark ink, and gold powder; Shopping Our Stash #566 Love Me Do - perfect for my Valentine's layout; Pick 3 Challenge #1 - used tree (stamped leaves and there is also a palm tree at the edge of the bottom photo) + texture (crimped paper) + stencil (dots on leaf paper)

Meow Layout

Since I scrapbooked my dog this weekend, I decided to give my kitty some equal time. He spends a lot of time sleeping on my bed, but sometimes he joins me in my scrapbooking room, where he either looks out the window or falls asleep on my scanner because it's warm! Speaker of which, I am still scanner-less, so I had to take a photo of my layout instead. The colors didn't come out as vibrant as IRL, but until I can figure out which scanner to buy, I guess it's my only option. It's so frustrating to think I've found the perfect scanner, and then I read a review that absolutely trashes it! What's a scrapping gal to do? Eek!

Recipe:

Chloe papers & stickers (Bella Blvd)

Capri & White Daisy cardstock

Capri, Honey & Sunset ink

Ink Blue fineliner pen (iBayam)

Chloe Ciao Chipboard (Bella Blvd)

Scalloped border punch (Fiskars)

Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: hearts

Pattern: Sketches-in Thyme #693 (rotated left)

Challenges: Cut It Up #348 My Heart; A Cut Above Anything Goes with a die-cut; Love Those Pretty Papers Anything Goes; The Outlawz Anything But a Card