Island Flora Layout

I finished another layout for my Hawaii album, this one using pictures from the beautiful Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens. The pattern is Small Packages from Imagine. I love being able to pack nine pictures onto one layout without it looking too busy. Cropping my pictures into 3"x3" squares enabled me to easily show off some of the tropical flora we saw during our visit. I used paper from the Moon Doggie Level 2 kit again (it goes so perfectly with tropical pictures), and I cut my title using my Wishblade and White Daisy textured cardstock which I then brayered with Topiary ink. Another simple but extremely colorful layout to add to the scrapbook. I noticed that this is my 100th layout, so I am halfway to my yearly scrapping goal for 2009. Yay!



Recipe:
Tiny Typewriter Alphabet & Extreme Happiness stamp sets
Moon Doggie Level 2 paper pack
Cranberry, Garden Green, Bamboo & White Daisy cardstock
Cranberry, Topiary, Honey & Chocolate ink
White Daisy Textured cardstock
Chipboard bookplate (source unknown)
Chocolate brads

Blow Hole Layout

After completing a really simple layout last time, I decided to kick it up a notch and do something I usually try to avoid on my layouts: sewing! For this layout of the Blow Hole, I wanted to create a little flourish that looked like the sea water spraying up from the Blow Hole. I sketched my flourish in pencil, poked holes at even intervals along the lines, and used Colonial White embroidery floss to sew my flourish. My sewing is usually rather simple (straight lines only), so this was a new technique for me. Although I like the results, my fingers are a bit sore from pushing the needle through the paper, so I don't think I'll try it again really soon! I also sewed across the top of my sub-title (can it be a sub-title if it's over the title?) to keep it in place. I wanted to add buttons, but I didn't have any in Indian Corn Blue to match the cardstock, so I just chose an assortment of blues plus one green for an (almost) monochromatic look. This picture of my son is one of my favorites. I just love looking at his pudgy little arms and legs, and seeing the excitement on his little baby face. It brings back sweet memories of his toddler years, but it also makes me thankful that our family is past the diapers and car seats phase!




Recipe:
Field Trip Alphabet stamp set
Moon Doggie Level 2 paper pack
Indian Corn Blue, Desert Sand & Colonial White cardstock
Desert Sand ink
Indian Corn Blue marker
Outdoor Denim, Dutch Blue, Heavenly Blue, Crystal Blue & Sweet Leaf buttons
Colonial White embroidery floss

Hiking Diamond Head Layout

This layout is super simple, but I love the panoramic pictures so I'm posting it anyway. I tried all kinds of embellishments, but nothing seemed just right. I finally decided to pull out my paper crimper - one of the forgotten tools in my stash - and crimp the two pieces that border the large photo on the left page. One of the things I always remember about hiking Diamond Head is all those stairs, and the crimped paper plus the lines on the side borders will remind me of that every time I look at this layout!



Recipe:
Hodge Podge Alphabet stamp set
Creme Brulee & Lilac Mist cardstock
Lilac Mist & Topiary ink
Lilac Mist & Topiary markers

Arizona Memorial Layout

I completed layout #2 for my Hawaii vacation album! I am trying to keep my albums small so that they won't take over the house, so unless there is a lot to scrap about, I am doing one double page layout per event / topic. On this layout, I had planned to put the journaling above the title, but it just wasn't working out. I didn't want to remove any of the pictures, so I decided to add a Flip-Flap to the memory protector to hold another picture and my journaling. I love these cool little things. Kudos to Jeanette Lynton and the creative team at CTMH for seeing a great way to create interactive pages without cutting into your page protectors. I had more than enough room to tell the story without making my layout look crowded. Thanks also to Tresa Black for her easy to follow video tutorial on how to use the Flip-Flaps. Now on to layout #3!







Recipe:
Rustic Alphabet, Charm Uppercase, He Said She Said & Star Struck stamp sets
Majestic Blue & Blue Ribbon paper packs
Outdoor Denim, Cranberry, Indian Corn Blue & Colonial White cardstock
Outdoor Denim, Cranberry & Indian Corn Blue ink
Clear Sparkles
Metal-rimmed circle tags
Foam squares
Sponge daubers

Hawaii 2006 Layout

My kids are both out of school and summer has officially arrived in our house. I am busier than a bee right now with swimming lessons, entertaining the kids, and teaching music at Vacation Bible School, but I thought I'd take a moment to post a layout from our Hawaii vacation in 2006. It was created on a True Fit 12 x 12 Folio (essentially a large file folder) that I can put into a scrapbook memory protector. It will hold all my memorabilia from this vacation, so I don't have to try to incorporate it onto my layouts. I wrote the journaling on a piece of cardstock and fastened it to the page using a spiral clip. It can be removed so you can read the journaling on both sides of the card. The Bamboo paper at the bottom is random stamped using a hibiscus flower stamp inked with Bamboo (for a tone on tone effect) and Desert Sand ink. I started scrapping this layout last week, and plan to complete the whole Hawaii vacation album this month. What a challenge this will be! We'll see if I can do it. I picked out all my patterns, printed my photos, and cropped them all to size, so I just need to get creative with papers and embellishments. 1 layout done, only 25 to go!



Recipe:
Playful Caps & Extreme Happiness stamp sets
True Fit Folio
Crystal Blue, Bamboo, Indian Corn Blue & White Daisy cardstock
Crystal Blue, Bamboo, Indian Corn Blue, Desert Sand & Cranberry ink
Love Letters rub-ons
Cranberry spiral clip
Indian Corn Blue marker

Crazy for Cards Workshop

I held a card workshop on Friday night, and used the Crazy for Cards directions featured on CTMH's Art and Soul. 6 ladies attended, and the theory was that we would complete 20 cards in 2 hours. Well, we started at 4:30, and when we quit at midnight, most of the ladies had completed about 12 cards! However, I did send them home with all their card pieces cut and ready to assemble, so they will just have to embellish them (that's what takes a long time). I was able to borrow a set from one of my ladies so I could show you some completed cards. She choose the Life Delights Level 2 paper pack (each lady picked out a different paper pack), and we used all ten cardstock sheets and 5 of the B&T Duos patterned papers, plus numerous stamp sets to embellish the cards. Although we were supposed to be using the Pretty Simple pattern on p. 116 of Originals, most of the ladies got pretty creative about their final projects, so they don't look much like the pattern in the book. But we had a great time, so that is what it's all about. Here are 8 of the cards.

Soccer Coach Gift - Part 2

I managed to finish the second of my soccer coach gifts in spite of having no power to the house today. I used the same color scheme but a totally different layout, and I added some of the Color-Ready Alphabet stickers to spell out the word coach. Originally I had used my spounge daubers to add Creme Brulee ink to the white stickers, but they still looked too plain, so I dabbed the edges with some Autumn Terracotta ink to give them a little pop. Much better! I also got smart and photographed the layout before I put it into a frame, so you can see it without the lovely reflection of the photographer. Yay, so glad this is done and I can start scrapping my Hawaii vacation from 2006. I'm playing some catch-up on older photos since I have scrapped January through May of this year.



Recipe:
Best Shot & Thanks stamp sets
Striped B&T Duo paper (retired)
Moonstruck, Dutch Blue, Heavenly Blue, Autumn Terracotta & Creme Brulee cardstock
Moonstruck, Dutch Blue, Heavenly Blue, Autumn Terracotta & Creme Brulee ink
Color-Ready Alphabet Stickers Hodge Podge
Spounge daubers
Fiskars scalloped edge punch

Soccer Coach Gift

I was asked by the team mom for my son Adrian's soccer team to create a framed layout to give to the coach and assistant coach at the team party. Well, the party is this weekend, so I figured I ought to get myself moving on this project! The team mom bought the frames, and getting the kids to sign the mat without the coaches seeing them was a trick, but I love that they all left their personal touch on the gift! Here is the first completed project. I was planning to adapt one of the patterns from Cherish (Dynamic Design), but as I was trying to figure out my color scheme, I had placed scraps of paper on the Moonstruck cardstock to see what colors went with the photo. I asked my husband his opinion, and he told me he really liked the design I'd created. I laughed and told him I really just wanted his opinion on the color scheme. He replied, "Looks great, but I think you need to use the arrangement of papers, too." I let it sit on my desk for a few days while I was working on other projects, and I finally decided he was right. So thanks, Greg, for your inspiration! Thanks also to the ladies on the CTMH consultant bulletin board, who offered feedback on my initial design. Now I'm off to finish #2. Our power will be turned off at 9am today while the electric company replaces a power pole on our street, so hopefully I can complete this project without electricity this morning. We're escaping to a friend's house this afternoon to take advantage of the air conditioning and pool. Wish me luck!





Recipe:
Best Shot, Thanks & Extreme Caps Alphabet stamp sets
Moonstruck, Dutch Blue, Autumn Terracotta & Creme Brulee cardstock
Heavenly Blue Textured cardstock
Moonstruck, Dutch Blue, Heavenly Blue, Autumn Terracotta & Creme Brulee ink
Circle cutter (CM)

Memorial Day BBQ Layout

Happy Independence Day weekend to all. We had a great time yesterday at a friend's house, but we ate way too much food! We all went swimming and Greg got sunburned (ouch), but the kids loved spending the day in the pool. I wanted to post this layout yesterday since it's somewhat patriotic (red, white, and blue color scheme), but we were so tired by the time we came home, we just plopped in front of the TV and watched the fireworks show at the White House. Anyway, here are our Memorial Day photos, scrapped using the Blue Ribbon paper pack and the Creative Rhythm pattern from Cherish. I want to share a cool product I used on this layout. If you've never used the pivot point stapler from CTMH, you are missing out. It is just like having a long-reach stapler, but it is so much smaller. I used it to fasten my folded piece of ricrac onto the layout (see the photos), and I never could have stapled this far into my paper at a slant (my staple need to be at an angle to hold the ribbon on) with a traditional stapler. The staple is almost 4" into the page. Love it!







Recipe:
May & July Word Puzzle stamp sets
Blue Ribbon Level 2 paper pack
Indian Corn Blue, Outdoor Denim & Colonial White cardstock
Indian Corn Blue, Honey & Cranberry ink
Outdoor Denim marker
Foam squares
Ricrac (Joanne's)
Staple

May '09 Layout

Today is a happy/unhappy day. Happy because I finally ordered cardstock yesterday (woohoo - picture me doing the happy dance!) and unhappy because my computer keyboard won't work, and I can't figure out how to fix it. I've tried wiggling the cord where it connects to the computer and also tried rebooting the computer, but nothing works. Ugh! I'm using my hubby's laptop, and it's going okay, but I want my computer fixed. . . Okay, I've thrown myself a pity party, now back to scrapbooking! I've been working on this layout for a few days now,and I finally got all the pictures and elements arranged just as I wanted. May was one of those months where you take a lot of pictures, but then you look at them and realize that only a few are worth scrapping. I did seperate layouts for a couple of events but wanted to create a layout to house all my "orphans," so I came up with a timeline approach that encompassed our events for the month. It was actually kind of funny to realize that, although I scrapbook my kids a lot (let's face it, they are cuter than Greg and I), the family activites for the month actually balance out between all the family members. I may take this timeline approach more often, just because it was fun and also because it gives me a snapshot view of what life was like for a whole month. I used a ton of stamp sets to create the journaling boxes (reminder to self: don't do that again!), so if you're interested in which stamp set I used to create a particular embellishment, leave me a comment and I'll try to help. One thing I did to bring continuity to the layout was to use the same stamp for the dates on each journaling box. Now I'm off to clean up my scrap desk!



Recipe:
Picture Perfect, Moments in Time, Express Postage, Connections, Tool Time, Say It In Style, Annotations, Post-Card Travel Series, Starstruck, Alphabet Solos "M" stamp sets
Alphabet stamp sets = Classmate & Homestead
Word Puzzle stamp sets = February, May, July & Priceless Love
Emporium paper pack
Vineyard Berry, Desert Sand & Colonial White cardstock
Vineyard Berry, Desert Sand, Sweet Leaf, Cocoa & Olive ink
Vineyard Berry, Desert Sand & Sweet Leaf markers
Pewter brad
Edge distresser
Scalloped scissors (CM)