My Funny Valentines Layout

I love pre-done watercolor designs on scrapbook papers, but it seems I can seldom find one that's exactly what I need, so I decided to purchase some watercolor paper and paints to start experimenting on my own. The current challenge to "Get Messy" over at Challenge YOUrself seemed like the perfect opportunity to break out these new supplies and see what I could do. I used red and yellow to create the background for this layout, and while it's not exactly what I was hoping for, it's a start. Hopefully I will improve with more practice!

Recipe:
Whooo's Your Valentine stamp set
May/June 2022 Mix-In & Dreamin' Big papers
Juniper & White Daisy cardstock
Watercolor paper
Juniper, Slate, Goldrush & Sunny Yellow ink
Black marker
Watercolor paints (Artists' Loft)
Everyday Life journaling card (Scrapbook.com)
Color Kaleidoscope stickers (American Crafts)
Red ribbon (Offray)
Medium heart punch (EK Success)
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: title, banner, tag
Cricut Artiste cartridge: funny
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #84

Challenges: Challenge YOUrself #113 Get Messy!

Be Yourself Layout for Lasting Memories #653

Happy Sunday, everyone! It's time for another challenge from Lasting Memories. This time we are being inspired by the word GRADS. Since I have a recent graduate in the family (congrats to my son who finished high school last Thursday), I decided to scrap photos of him from his early school career. I included the following product/techniques:

G - glitter dots
R - rub-on
A - arrow
D - Distressing, die-cuts
S - star paper

Feel free to visit us at Lasting Memories to see all the June challenges, and we hope you get inspired to play along!

Recipe:
October Word Puzzle & Save the Date stamp sets
Field Trip papers (American Crafts)
Molly papers (Bella Blvd)
Dutch Blue, Honey & White Daisy cardstock
Dutch Blue, Moonstruck & Honey ink
Moonstruck marker
Candid Moments PML card
Enamel & Glitter Duos
Love Letters rub-on
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: stars, arrow
Pattern: Stick It Down June single page sketch (modified for 4 larger photos)

All the Way Home Layout

I love these sweet photos of my daughter carrying her brother home from the park. Their piggy back ride reminded me of the old nursery rhyme about the five little pigs, where the fifth pig cried, "Wee, wee, wee," all the way home, so I used that inspiration as my title.

Recipe:
Skylark papers
Lagoon, Sweet Leaf, Chocolate & Buttercup cardstock
White Daisy textured cardstock
Lagoon, Sweet Leaf, Chocolate, Saddle & Flaxen ink
White Pearls
Rhinestone stickers (Recollections)
Square ribbon slide (MM)
Lagoon & Chocolate baker's twine
Floral ribbon (Ribbon Boutique from Berwick)
Lace (from Michaels)
Chipboard buttons & flower stems (from my stash , source unknown)
Paint (miscellaneous brands from my stash)
3-D foam tape
Mini heart punch (EK Success)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title, flowers, outline heart
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: arrow border
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #102

Look Whoo’s Here Layout

My son graduated from high school last week and I wanted to get his elementary school album finished, but I‘ve been super busy getting him through his last weeks of school (I’m a homeschooling mama) so I had to settle with just getting second grade scrapped! Fortunately I don't have nearly as many school photos as family photos. Here's his first day page.

Recipe:
Colorful kit & Collection V papers (KI Memories)
Capri, Chocolate, Almond, Desert Sand & White Daisy cardstock
Capri, Chocolate, Saffron & Desert Sand ink
Peacock Blue fineliner pen (iBayam)
Yellow-gold grograin ribbon (Offray)
Chevron embossing folder
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: title, owl
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tags
Pattern: Scraplift from Scrapbook.com 

Happy Birthday Little Man Layout for Lasting Memories #652 - WARMER Word Play

I missed the original Lasting Memories post on Sunday due to a crazy weekend with my son's graduation and his party, my birthday, plus entertaining out of town guests, and then my other son was baptized on Sunday! I'm just starting to catch my breath again and managed to put together this layout using the first challenge for June. Each weekly challenge features a summer themed word, and we need to add an item for each letter. For this week's word, WARMER, I used the following list:

W - washi tape
A - arrow
R - red patterned paper
M - mixed media (used texture paste and a stencil to do the stars in the corner)
E - enamel stars
R - rub-on (XOXOXO)

If you love word play and scrapbooking, feel free to hop on over to Lasting Memories for some inspiration before the challenges end on July 1.

Recipe:

Happy Birthday & Hodgepodge Alphabet stamp sets

Sweet Safari, Summer Vibes & I Heart Us papers

Bluebird, Carolina, Candy Apple, Sundance & White Daisy cardstock

Bluebird, Carolina, Candy Apple & Sundance ink

Cadmium Red fineliner pen (iBayam)

Red enamel stars

Honey triangles washi tape

Love Letters rub-on

Starry Night stencil (Scrapbook.com)

Opaque Matte texture paste (Ranger)

3-D foam tape

Cricut Artiste cartridge: arrow, stars

Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: banners

Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #102 (you will see this sketch again soon because I'm playing along with a challenge on Scrapbook.com to use the same sketch five times!)

Challenges: Double Trouble #139 We Dare You (Thing 1 = masculine + Thing 2 = play along with Festive Friday's challenge + Thing 3 = Plaid & check pattern) ; Festive Friday #135 (used blue + masculine + plaid/checks + die-cuts)

So Chill Layout

My hubby and son like to go skiing/snowboarding together periodically, so this layout features photos of their first outing in 2017. It's so fun to see how young Elliot was in these photos, especially considering he graduated from high school yesterday!

Recipe:
Sweet Safari papers
Field Trip Journaling Pad papers (American Crafts)
Bluebird, Candy Apple & White Daisy cardstock
Candy Apple ink
Peacock Blue Fineliner pen (iBayam)
Teen Spirit Boy ephemera (Echo Park)
Everyday Moments pocket cards (Scrapbook.com)
Field Trip Puffy Thickers (American Crafts)
Pattern: Stick It Down May 2023 double page sketch (I turned the curve on the right page into a triangle!)

Challenges: Colorful Options Blue and/or Colors of the Rainbow; Inspiration Station #49 Photo Inspiration (the colorful ribbons reminded me of the patterned paper I used on the sides of my layout)

Smile Card

I needed to make a card for a graduate this week, so here's what I whipped up thanks to the help of several challenges! On the inside, I stamped "You are positively amazing" to represent the challenges this grad had to overcome to earn a Bachelor's Degree.

Recipe:

A Game stamp set

Field Trip Journaling Pad & Slice of Life papers (American Crafts)

Stargazer & May/June 2022 Mix-In papers

Black & White Daisy cardstock

Canary, Capri, Pacifica & Black ink

Emoji stickers (American Greetings)

Foam emoji (from my stash, source unknown)

Maize grosgrain ribbon (Offray)

3-D foam tape

Cricut You Are Here cartridge: graduation hat

Cricut Artbooking cartridge: smile

Pattern: Sketch-n-Scrap card sketch #241

Challenges: Little Red Wagon #705 Play the Game (I chose tic-tac-toe); Festive Friday #134 (I used yellow, black, smile sentiment, emoji & circle)

Just Us Girls #680 Mood Board (inspired by the various shades of blue)

Tic Tac Toe Challenges #209 (used the diagonal of  any shape + free + blue)

Having a Wild Time Layout for Lasting Memories #650

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. Here's hoping you have a wonderful day and maybe even get in some scrapping time! If you do, feel free to play along with this week's challenge at Lasting Memories, another tic-tac-toe board. I chose the top row with washi tape + 3 buttons + chipboard, but there are a lot of other options that would be fun to use. You have until May 27th to join us with this or any other of the tic-tac-toe boards. Hope to see you over there. Now here's my layout:  

And here's the board:

Recipe:
At the Zoo papers (Doodlebug Designs)
Jungle Safari paper (Echo Park)
Sunflower, Chocolate, Almond, Toffee, Sunset & White Daisy cardstock
Sunflower, Pear, Chocolate & Black ink
Sienna fineliner pen (iBayam)
Baby Pink marker
DE Tags chipboard
Fern bakers twine
Say Cheese Adventure at the Park washi tape (Simple Stories)
Junebug Puffies - butterflies
Autumn Terracotta buttons
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: giraffe
Cricut Artistry cartridge: hedgehog
Cricut Noah's ABC Animals cartridge: lion
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge #92

Challenges: Scrap With Stacy May 2023 Tic-Tac-Toe board (I used the diagonal with butterfly + tag + black & white title)

Mother's Day Card 2023

I'm super late creating my card for my mom this year, but hopefully it will get there in time! I started with a blank card base and used this technique to create a floral background. I'm not much of a mixed media gal, so this is probably as close as you will see me get. Once I created the background, I added some die cuts and patterned paper, but they weren't working for me, so I went back to the drawing board and found a card sketch from Stick It Down that I thought I could adapt for the word MOM. Part of me thinks I should have added a penned square around the letters to tie it all together, but I was too chicken, so I left it as is. I know my mom will love it no matter what, so that's what's important. 

Recipe:
Background Elements & Intrinsic Backgrounds (2010) stamp sets
Gypsy, Lagoon, Sunset, Black & White Daisy cardstock
Gypsy & Lagoon ink
Black marker
Mocha Opaques pearls
Black button
Lagoon baker's twine
Heart stencil (Scrapbook.com)
Cricut Wall Decor & More cartridge: MOM
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: butterfly, daisies, hearts
Small flower punches (EK Success)
Pattern: Stick It Down May 2023 card sketch

A bunch of challenge blogs had a flower theme this month, so FYI: I was also inspired by the new purple and white daisies we planted last Saturday. They look fuchsia in the photo, but they're really more purple.

Challenges: Allsorts #727 April Showers bring May Flowers; Crafter's Cafe #296 Easter and/or Flowers (I went with flowers); Crafting Happiness #142 Flowers; Little Red Wagon #704 Spring Flower; Retro Rubber Challenge Blog #206 Tic-Tac-Toe  (use the middle column down with stencil + flowers + ribbon/twine)

For the Birds Layout for Lasting Memories #649

I started this layout last Friday as part of my design team entry for this week's Lasting Memories challenge, but life happened and I just got back to it this afternoon. Since our dog Huxley hated it, I had just one photo of him in his crate, so that became the focal point of my layout. To play along with the Lasting Memories tic-tac-toe challenge, I used a bird + 2 or more layers + one photo. I could just imagine Huxley thinking, "This crate business is for the birds," which is what inspired my title!

Here's the Tic-Tac-Toe board!

Recipe:
Dotty for You, Dream Pop & Craft On papers
Raspberry, Juniper, Sunflower, Peacock & White Daisy cardstock
Raspberry, Sunflower, Juniper & Peacock ink
Fineliner pen (iBayam)
Yellow ribbon (American Crafts)
My Happy Place & Falling for You Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug Designs)
Color Kaleidoscope cardstock stickers (American Crafts)
Heart stencil (Scrapbook.com)
Cricut Art Philosphy cartridge: tag, banner, arrow
Cricut Design Space: title using Thick Alphabet
Pattern: Scrap Our Stash May 2023 sketch

Challenges: Critter Crazy Challenges #74 Anything Goes with an animal as the focus; Color My Heart #547 Rainbow Inspiration (used almost all the colors!)