Picnic Layout

I took another break today from scrapping Hawaii pictures in order to complete another of Helen Onulak's CTMH How-To books challenges (#21). This time, she asked us to use the pattern "Column Composition" from Cherish. It only features 3 pictures, and I am totally not a 3 pictures on a two-page layout kind of gal, so I revised the sketch. Instead of 1 4"x6" picture on the left page, I placed 3 5"x3.5" photos, plus I added a Flip-Flap to page 2, so I actually have a total of 7 pictures on here. Much more my style! I used 2 papers from the Magic Moments kit, but the paisley one was really busy, so I turned it over and used the monochromatic side. This allowed me to stamp my journaling and some captions on the little 2"x2" squares, which was a good thing because I placed my title where the journaling was supposed to go. Speaking of the title, I posted two versions of the layout because I couldn't decide whether I liked it better with the title facing left or right. Please leave me a comment and let me know which you think looks better, version 1 or version 2. It's not fastened down yet, so I'll do that when I get some feedback on which way you like it. I'm sure all you experienced scrappers will have an opinion! Thanks.

Version 1

Version 2


Recipe:
Hodge Podge Alphabet, Tiny Typewriter Alphabet, Friendship Alphabet Small, Atomic Numbers, Alphabet Solos "E", "F" & "H" & Dream Big stamp sets
Magic Moments Level 2 paper pack
Autumn Terracotta & Indian Corn Blue cardstock
Chocolate, Indian Corn Blue & Sunflower ink
Dimension Elements Monograms "P", "I", "C" & "N"

Waimea Falls Layout

Another layout from the Waimea Valley Audubon Center. These pictures were taken at Waimea Falls. Not sure I love this layout, but I do like the Moon Doggie papers, and I had fun poking a border in the curved piece and the title piece using my paper piercer. I realized afterwards that I had a cute picture of my family that I forgot to use, which may be why I am not entirely happy with this layout. Oh well, maybe I'll make a "Hawaii in Review" page to put at the end of the album, and I can use it there. I'm off to do some more scrapping. Have a great weekend!



Recipe:
Chocolate Alphabet Large, Extreme Happiness & Star Struck stamp sets
Moon Doggie Level 2 papers
Indian Corn Blue, Desert Sand & Colonial White cardstock
Cranberry, Desert Sand & Sunflower ink
Indian Corn Blue Marker
Autumn Harvest Bigger Brads
Foam Squares
Paper piercer
Decorative Trimmer (CM)

Waimea Valley Layout

What a week this has been for our poor computer! My hubby finally got it working again, but he had to reconfigure it quite a bit. I was all ready to use it yesterday to scan some layouts when the power to our neighborhood went out. We were without electricity for 14 hours (on one of the hottest days of the summer), and we ended up sleeping outside because it was so hot in the house. But finally, I was able to sit down today and scan a layout, so here it is. This is from our visit to the Waimea Valley Audubon Center. Although it has changed a bit since the days when it was the Waimea Valley Adventure Park, the scenery is still as beautiful as ever. We really missed the tram, though, as we hiked the 3/4 mile up to the Falls. I used one of Becky Higgin's sketches for this layout, and was able to fit 10 pictures on it. I cut the title out using my Wishblade, and I love how I was able to get that delicate look to it. I think it goes really well with the lovely Bella paper pack (one of my favorites). By the way, my son really does not look like the photo on the far left makes him appear. When I was scanning the layout, something happened to compress the picture a bit, so I noticed his squashed down face makes him resemble a gnome or troll - not the case in real life at all!



Recipe:
With Love stamp set
Bella Level 2 paper pack
Garden Green, Amethyst & Topiary cardstock
White Daisy textured cardstock
Petal, Topiary, Creme Brulee & Desert Sand ink
White Daisy Dazzling Die Cuts
Topiary Marker
Wishblade (Xyron)

Malfunction!

I am typing this post on my DH's laptop because my computer is freaking out. My hubby and I had an emergency session last night in which we burned all our pictures from 2008 and 2009 onto discs, just in case the computer crashed. Fortunately we had the previous years already backed up, so it wasn't the huge job it could have been, but it did give me a bit of a scare. I no longer print my pictures until I am ready to scrap them, so I would have lost 2 years worth of photos. We'll see if the other computer can be fixed, but in the meantime I can't scan anything, so any layouts I post will just be photographed (and probably pretty poorly). I'll try to catch up tomorrow, but in the meantime, GO BACK UP YOUR PHOTOS!!! That's right, close this window and burn those photos on disc! Don't think a computer crash can't happen to you because it can. GO! DO IT NOW!!!

Big Island Layouts

I haven't posted for a few days, but that doesn't mean I haven't been scrapping. I have completed several more layouts from our Hawaii vacation, but I was procrastinating on posting them because it's such a pain to scan and stitch them together. Oh, for a 12" x 12" scanner! Maybe if I start hinting to the hubby now, one will be forthcoming for Christmas. In the meantime, I limp along with the standard size one we have. I decided to scan the remaining three layouts that I have completed with photos taken on our day excursion to the Big Island, so here they are. I finally busted out my package of Fancy Cuts Botanicals that I ordered a while back. They were such fun to play with that I made a few cards, too. What an easy way to add beautiful touches to a project.

Halema'uma'u Crater

Recipe:
The Works Alphabet stamp set
Lilac Mist & Moonstruck cardstock
Moonstruck ink
Fancy Cuts Botanicals
Clear Craft Buttons
Creme Brulee Ribbon Rounds
Moonstruck marker

Thurston Lava Tube

Recipe:
Hodge Podge Alphabet stamp set
Expedition Level 2 papers
Olive, Autumn Terracotta, Chocolate & Bamboo cardstock
Key Lime textured cardstock
Olive & Autumn Terracotta ink
Pewter brads
Basic Craft Buttons
Twill ribbon
Olive marker

Lili'uokalani Gardens Park

Recipe:
Perfect Day Level 2 papers
Garden Green cardstock
Creme Brulee ink
Fancy Cuts Botanicals
Love Letters Rub-Ons
Spring Blossom Mini-Medley Bigger Brads & Photo Hangers
Autumn Craft Buttons
Embroidery Floss
Creme Brulee Ribbon Rounds

Birthday Layout Update

I finally got to Costco and picked up my pictures, so here's the final version of the birthday layout I posted previously. I have to confess: I am in love with Flip-Flaps. I can't fathom how I existed without them! They are so perfect for adding those extra photos without cluttering up my page. I was able to fit three extra 4" x 6" photos plus my journaling box onto the layout by using Flip-Flaps. How can I not love that?! Okay, just wanted to post that little update, and now I am off to scrub the wall that my 4 year old son scribbled all over!






Recipe (additional supplies):
Autumn Harvest Bigger Brads
Flip-Flaps

Birthday Party Layout

Taking a break for the day from Hawaii layouts, so I can post this layout I created for fellow CTMH consultant Helen Onulak's weekly challenge using CTMH How-to book patterns. This week, she asked us to create a layout using the following Reflections patterns: Sidebar - Journaling (p.45) and Half & Half - Balanced (p. 89). I actually switched the order of the two pages, and rotated Sidebar 90 degrees so it would fit with my pictures. I didn't post it with photos because I forgot to go to Costco and pick up the photos that are supposed to be on this layout. Silly me! I plan to add the photos tomorrow, but I wanted to get this posted before the end of the challenge. I was so excited to get "It's Your Day," the monthly stamp from CTMH - love that birthday theme! It went perfectly with these pages celebrating the first birthday of a friend's little boy.




Recipe:
It's Your Day, Boutique Borders, Field Trip Alphabet & Classmate Alphabet
Animal Cookies Creative Basics papers
Dutch Blue, Sweet Leaf, Honey & White Daisy cardstock
Dutch Blue, Sweet Leaf, Honey & Tulip ink
White Daisy Ric-rac
Tulip Brads
Foam Squares

Volcanoes National Park Layout

It's a bit hard to find good papers to go with volcanoes. After all, it's not something you scrapbook every day! I wanted to pick up the grey of the landscape without drowning my layout in it, so I applied Greg Wool ink to my brayer and rolled it over White Daisy Textured cardstock. I still got a little bit of white to show through, and the grey coordinates nicely with the pictures. Random stamping the flower centers from the Rustic Flowers stamp set allowed me to pick up a few other colors from my pictures. Not sure what I was thinking, dressing Elliot in orange and green and then putting a red windbreaker on him. Throw in some blue jackets and my MIL's pink outfit, and we have almost every color under the sun to try to coordinate. After much deliberation (my DH would say way too much), I decided to pick up the blue from the jackets and the orange from my shirt, since none of the pinks I had went with the pinks in the picture. I had a lot of extra photos, but I didn't want to scrapbook 4 or 5 layouts of the volcano, so using the pattern Everything in Its Place from Imagine allowed me to create a folder to house a few more photos.



Recipe:
Rustic Flowers & Tiny Typewriter Alphabet stamp sets
Autumn Garden B&T combo paper pack (discontinued)
Autumn Terrra Cotta & Bamboo cardstock
White Daisy Textured cardstock
Vellum
Indian Corn Blue, Grey Wool, Autumn Terra Cotta & Bamboo ink
Indian Corn BLue embroidery floss
Autumn craft buttons
White Daisy Dazzling Die Cuts
Photo Clip (JoAnn's)
Bamboo Brad (JoAnn's)
Brayer

Kailua Beach & Pali Lookout Layout

We had taken some random pictures to finish up the day and I didn't want to scrap two layouts with them, so I challenged myself to figure out how to scrap them on one layout. The hardest part was the title, but (after re-reading the tourism guide 3 times) I finally hit on using the Hawaiian words Makai (towards the sea) and Mauka (towards the mountains), which is how residents give directions on Oahu. It fit because we first went to the sea, and then drove towards the mountains. The pattern is Creative Team from Imagine. I used an embossing stylus and the channel in my Fiskars trimmer to create the lines above and below the title. The background cardstock on both pages is Bamboo, but for some wierd reason it looks lighter towards the bottom of the page. Must be something to do with scanning the layouts. I've been able to use up bits and pieces of my older paper packs while doing this album, so maybe I can clear out some room for the cute new paper packs in the Winter Idea Book!



Recipe:
True Happiness stamp set
Summer Celebration B&T Combo paper pack (discontinued)
Bamboo, Crystal Blue, Desert Sand, Olive & White Daisy cardstock
Crystal Blue, Desert Sand, Olive & Ocean ink
Autumn & Winter craft buttons
Natural hemp

Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens Layout

What a crazy summer: VBS, swim lessons, visit from my MIL, vacation in Colorado - whew! After several weeks where I couldn't even catch my breath, much less do any scrapbooking, I finally have some completed layouts to share. I'm still working on our Hawaii 2006 vacation, but I gave up on completing it by the end of July. Now my goal is the end of August. I'm going to a crop / craft weekend at church this Friday night and Saturday, so hopefully I will crank out a few layouts there. Anyway, back to the layout. This was such a simple layout, yet I could not get it finished for a long time. I kept wanting to add more, but could not decide what, so I finally left it alone. It's based on a Becky Higgin's sketch, and I haven't done one of these for a while. It really made me miss the ease of completing a layout using Jeanette Lynton's How To books. They really are "faster, simpler, easier!" At least this is finally done, and the memories are preserved.



Recipe:
Alphabet Solos E, April Word Puzzle & Jungle Leaves (discontinued) stamp sets
Moon Doggie Level 2 paper pack
Sweet Leaf cardstock
Sweet Leaf ink
Cocoa Grosgrain ribbon
Cocoa marker