LOAD #31 - Donkey

My final layout for the LOAD challenge, and what a ride it has been. I loved getting all these photos scrapped, but I won't miss the pressure of the deadline. The good new is that I only have 17 layouts to go to meet my yearly goal. November and December should be easy! Thanks to the wonderful ladies who have scrapped along with me. It's been fun getting to know you through your photos, and I hope you will join me for future challenges. And now, here is today's layout. I used the week 121 sketch from Nuts about Sketches, and for a change I stayed pretty close to the original sketch. BTW, I'm not positive that that's a donkey in the picture, but please don't tell me if it's not! Somehow Eeyore doesn't spring to mind when someone says mule or burro.



Recipe:
Precious Alphabet & Priceless Love Word Puzzle stamp sets
Grace Level 2 papers
Olive & Colonial White cardstock
Cocoa, Twilight & Honey ink
Cocoa marker
White Daisy, Spring Blossom & Big Pinks Just Blooms
Basic craft buttons
Cocoa grosgrain ribbon

LOAD #30 - Grand Canyon Deer Farm

Another layout from our Arizona trip. The deer farm was pretty cool, and I will always remember the feeling of a herd of deer competing to be hand fed by our family. I used the Week 78 sketch from Nuts about Sketches, but I flipped the pages.



Recipe:
Friendship Alphabet Large & Small stamp sets
Caprice Level 2 papers
Bamboo & Desert Sand cardstock
Chocolate ink
Chocolate marker
Chocolate grosgrain ribbon
Heartfelt Wonder die cuts

LOAD #29 - In Process

Hi! It's getting late and my hubby and I are leaving for a night at the theater (without the kids - yay)! My layout is almost done but I don't have time to post it now. I'll try to get it posted tomorrow morning. In the meantime, all you LOADies can post your layouts.

********
Here is the layout for yesterday. It's really simple, so it seems like I should have been able to post it earlier, but life this month has been crazy and this morning was no exception! The photos are from our trip to the Grand Canyon Railway Station in Williams, AZ, and this is the first page for our 2007 Arizona trip.



Recipe:
Building Block Alphabet & Classmate Alphabet stamp sets
Giggles & Grins My Stickease
Sunny Yellow & Black cardstock
Cranberry & Black ink
Cranberry spiral clip
Black ribbon (Michaels)

LOAD #28 - Lake Arrowhead

Can you believe we only have three more days left (not including today) of October? And that means three more layouts! We're almost done with the Layout a Day Challenge. It's been fun, hasn't it? Here's today's layout. I did some dry embossing and sanding on the Cranberry cardstock - love that look.



Recipe:
Hodgepodge Alphabet stamp set
Silhouette Level 2 paper & My Stickease
Bamboo, Cranberry, Black & White Daisy cardstock
Black ink
Black marker
Sparkles
Snowflake punches (Martha Stewart & EK Success)
Scallop scissors (Fiskars)

LOAD #27 - Winter Fun

Technically speaking, the title of this layout should be "Winter Fun?" since it is questionable how much fun my boys had sledding! But since I didn't have a chipboard question mark, I left it as is. Don't know if you can see it in the scan, but the snowflake tied to the title is covered with liquid glass and sprinkled with glitter. I really need to order some blue sparkles, so I can add them to this layout. I think they would be the perfect finishing touch.



Recipe:
Jingle Borders & February Word Puzzle stamp sets
Animal Cookies Creative Basics & Cherry-O Level 2 papers
Sky, Moonstruck & White Daisy cardstock
Moonstruck, Sky & Tulip ink
Moonstruck marker
DE Monograms "F", "U", "N"
Moonstruck embroidery floss
Prisma Glitter
Liquid Glass
Pattern: Add an Element from Cherish

LOAD #26 - Dinos and More

Another layout for the Natural History Museum, this time featuring some of the dinosaurs we saw there. You may not be able to tell because the photo came out a little dark, but the vertical photo on the left page shows a really cool T-rex skeleton, well worth the money we paid for admission!



Recipe:
Extreme Caps & Star Struck stamp sets
Passages & Expedition Level 2 papers
Garden Green cardstock
White Daisy textured cardstock
Brown Bag, Cocoa & Garden Green ink
Cocoa marker
Cocoa grosgrain ribbon
Staples
Pattern: Designers Eye from Cherish

LOAD #25 - Hall of California History

It may be late, but it's still Monday according to California time, so here's my LOAD for today! The pictures are from a trip to the Museum of Natural History, and I used a Becky Higgins' sketch as a starting point. My only problem with Becky's sketches is that they show you where to place your photos, but seldom where to put your papers. Becky's examples are also frequently cardstock only layouts, so I struggle with where to put my pretty patterned papers, but I improvised on this one and am relatively happy with how it came out.



Recipe:
Friendship Alphabet Small & Noted Backgrounds stamp sets
Passages Level 2 papers
Brown Bag, Barn Red & Bamboo cardstock
Brown Bag, Barn Red & Black ink
Barn Red Bigger Brads
Edge distresser

LOAD #24 - Cousins

Today was quite a day. Between getting ready for another open house, attending church, going to the pumpkin patch while we were banished from our home, and getting home to find the open house was still going strong (an hour after it was supposed to finish), I have not had a moment to scrap. Plus I'm all out of photos (one of the hazards of scrapping every day) and I did not get more pictures sent to Costco to be printed. Woe is me! I did not get a layout done yet today, and it may not happen. But I promise I'll catch up tomorrow. LOADies, please post your layouts and I'll add mine after I get photos developed.

*****Friday******
Well, I promised I would get this layout posted days ago and it just did not happen. Sorry! At last, I have it ready to go, so here it is. I was inspired by a layout created by Michele (Chelemom) at Splitcoast Stampers. She was the featured scrapper last week, and we were challenged to scraplift a layout. I love the look of her layouts, but I have a hard time doing all the layers, so this was quite a challenge for me. I finally decided to use layers but not worry about the eclectic style part. All my papers and stickers are from the same paper collection and they all look like they match, but I think that's okay. Hopefully it shows how you can find inspiration from anyone's style, no matter how different from your own. Here's the page I scraplifted: They Are Why I Scrapbook



Recipe:
Picture Perfect & Simple Stitches stamp sets
Animal Cookies Level 2 & Creative Basics papers
Animal Cookies My Stickease
Creme Brulee, Tulip & White Daisy cardstock
Tulip & Dutch Blue ink
Irresistible Lots of Dots stickers
3-D foam tape
Scalloped border punch (Fiskars)

LOAD #23 - Lexi

My husband's niece Lexi, the cutest baby in the world - what more needs to be said?



Recipe:
Priceless Love Word Puzzle & State of Mind stamp sets
Cherry-O Level 2 papers
Sweet Leaf, Chocolate & White Daisy cardstock
Sweet Leaf, Chocolate, Tulip & Crystal Blue ink
Irresistibles Lots of Dots stickers
Love Letter rub-ons
Tulip, Sweet Leaf & Chocolate craft buttons
Tulip brad
White grosgrain & Chocolate ribbon
Scalloped border punch (Fiskars)
Pattern: Full House from Imagine

LOAD #22 - Life Afloat

Another Midway layout. I created the clouds by masking cloud shapes on White Daisy cardstock and then brayering over the paper with Sky ink.



Recipe:
Tiny Typewriter Alphabet, Flyin' High & True Happiness stamp sets
Zippidee Level 2 papers
Dutch Blue, White Daisy & Bamboo cardstock
Sky, Cranberry, Bamboo, Dutch Blue & Black ink
3-D foam tape

LOAD #21 - Oops!

I do have a layout completed for today, but I refuse to post it because I just don't like it, so you'll have to take my word for it! LOAD participants, please don't let that stop you from posting your own layouts. Hope yours come out better than mine. See you tomorrow.

LOAD #20 - Flight Deck

Some more pictures of the USS Midway. I used a brayer and Greg Wool ink to roll the background color onto White Daisy cardstock, and the results remind me of industrial steel, perfect for this layout.



Recipe:
Extreme Caps & Journaling Jots stamp sets
Barn Red & White Daisy cardstock
Grey Wool & Black ink
Barn Red marker
Pewter brads

LOAD #19 - USS Midway

We took a ton of photos during our trip to the USS Midway, and I didn't want to do 5 layouts of it, so I tried to cram as many pictures as I could onto this layout. I used the pattern Stars Above from Imagine for the design, and I replaced some of the large photo spaces with multiple smaller photos. Hopefully, you get the picture of our trip!



Recipe:
Hero's Pride stamp set
Majestic Blue Level 2 papers
Bamboo, Indian Corn Blue & Chocolate cardstock
Chocolate & Desert Sand ink
Indian Corn Blue marker
Plantain cartridge (Cricut)

LOAD #18 - Cake & Presents

I really need to get back on the ball and finish my layouts earlier in the day. Tomorrow morning is busy again, but hopefully I can get back on track by Wednesday. This layout is the final one in my series from the coolest princess party ever. Check out the great princess cake! I was inspired by the sketches in the July/August issue of Creating Keepsakes, so I used the basic idea and adapted it to my photos. Hope you like it.



Recipe:
Chocolate Alphabet Small, It's YOur DAy & Good Times stamp sets
Life Delights Level 2 papers
Lilac Mist & White Daisy cardstock
Lilac Mist, Blush, Chocolate & Creme Brulee ink
Chocolate marker
Chocolate grosgrain ribbon
Chocolate brads

LOAD #17 - Blue Sharks

Today's page uses the same pattern (Small Packages) as yesterday's, and it's the same subject (soccer pictures), but you can see how the two look totally different because I used different supplies. I also used stitching on both layouts, but whereas yesterday's featured embroidery floss, today I got lazy and just used a marker to create faux stitches.



Recipe:
Best Shot & Cocktail Alphabet stamp sets
Stardust Level 2 papers
Bamboo & White Daisy cardstock
Dutch Blue, Desert Sand & Moonstruck ink
Moonstruck marker
White gel pen (Marvy)

LOAD #16 - Red Devils

I'm home after a long but fulfilling day at a leadership seminar, and I have my layout completed. Woohoo! I used the pattern Small Packages from Imagine for this one, and so I was able to pack in 12 photos and hopefully not have it look too busy. I also hope that any physics majors who see this layout are not too hard on me regarding the trajectory of the soccer ball. It's probably physically impossible, but I'm a scrapbooker, so you have to cut me some slack!



Recipe:
Extreme Caps & Best Shot stamp sets
Emporium Level 2 papers
Cocoa & Colonial White cardstock
Cocoa & Vineyard Berry ink
Vineyard Berry marker
Sweet Leaf embroidery floss

LOAD #15 - Forestiere Underground Gardens

I've been trying to finish up my layouts in the morning so I can post them by noon, but today was a hectic day. In fact, this has been a crazy week. We "sold" our house contingent on us finding a new house, lost out on the house we wanted to purchase (by 90 minutes), and I've spent the last 2 days scouring the area for another home we liked enough to move from our current one. Found it today, so we've been doing paperwork and been on the phone with our realtor all day. If all goes well, I will have a big scraproom by this time next month! Anyway, I finally got a chance to sit down and work on my layout today after dinner, so it is pretty simple, but at least it tells the story. You probably have to click on the picture and enlarge it to see this, but I used a circle punch to create the arches in the bottom border paper, and then stamped plants on the background paper that peeks out from behind it. Fun! BTW, I may be posting late tomorrow as well since I'll be at a seminar until 5, but we'll see if I can whip another one out tonight!



Recipe:
Friendship Alphabet Small & Intrinsic Backgrounds stamp sets
Unknown patterned paper from my stash!
Heavenly Blue & Bamboo cardstock
Topiary & Chocolate ink
CM circle punch

LOAD #14 - Ready to Ride

I'm almost done scrapping photos from our 2006 Yosemite vacation. These photos were taken outside Yosemite on the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad. My boys had a lot of fun, especially the elder since at the time he was a huge fan of "The Polar Express." I used the pattern Creative Rhythm from Jeanette Lynton's book Cherish for the design.



Recipe:
Passages & Route 66 Level 2 papers
Black & Desert Sand cardstock
Black ink
Black marker
Silhouette My Stickease alphabet stickers
Train Stickers (Stickopotamous)
Ribbon (Michaels)

EMS Sketch Challenge 21 & LOAD #13 - Climbing Half Dome Layout

I promised a sketch challenge every other Wednesday, so here it is. I'm scrapping a lot of panaromic pictures because my husband just loves to take them, but if you don't have a single picture to fit the bottom 2 spots, you could use 3 4"x6" photos. My panoramic photo ended up being a little shorter than 6", so I was able to add the "mountains" to the bottom of the page. I hauled out my old deckle scissor (remember when those were all the rage?) and cut a border, and then hand cut at irregular intervals to make the mountains taller.

The sketch:

My Layout:

Recipe:

Classmate Alphabet, Charm Uppercase Alphabet, Charm Lowercase Alphabet, Beautiful Things, Journaling Jots, & True Friends stamp sets

Stardust Level 2 papers 

Bamboo & Dutch Blue cardstock

Bamboo, Topiary & Moonstruck ink

Moonstruck marker

Deckle scissors (SU)

LOAD #12 - Tenaya Lake

I have to give a shout-out to fellow CTMH consultant Lela as I post today's layout. I was totally inspired by the color combination on her At the Bay layout that used pastel blue and a bold red. I loved the look and wanted to try it on my own layout. I love how it came out, and will probably be using this combo again, so thanks, Lela! Thanks also to Jeanette Lynton; I used the pattern Pleasing Paradigm from her book Cherish as the basis for the layout.



Recipe:
Extreme Caps stamp set
MME patterned papers
Heavenly Blue & Cocoa cardstock
Cocoa & Twilight ink
Twilight marker
Heartfelt Wonder diecuts
Spring Blossom Just Blooms
Spring Blossom Mini Medley (brads)
Liquid Glass

LOAD #11 - Dog Lake

I usually use my blog to show off the wonderful Close to My Heart Products that I love so much, but I do actually have a bunch of non-CTMH products that I've collected over the years. I'm trying to use up some of them on my Yosemite scrapbook (pictures from our 2006 vacation), so the layouts for this week will be a mix of CTMH and other manufacturers. Today's layout is also my submission for an inspiration challenge for Split Coast Stampers. The challenge was to use leaves on your project, and I had some pretty leaf paper that I thought worked well with my pictures. If you're interested in participating in this challenge, the deadline is October 17, and you can get the details here. Let me know if you submit a layout. I get extra-credit for referring you!



Recipe:
Making Memories paper
Moonstruck, Barn Red & Vanilla Cream cardstock
Brown Bag & Barn Red ink
Brown Bag marker
Chipboard alphabet (JoAnns)
Pewter brads
Leaf punch (Family Treasures)

LOAD #10 - Kindergarten Portrait

Anyone notice that today is 10/10/10? Kinda cool!

I am so far behind on my boys' school albums. My oldest son is in third grade and I am just completing a layout for his kindergarten portrait. Oh well, I have scrapped several other events from kindergarten, so maybe I should just enjoy reliving how little he was in kindergarten. This is a scraplift of a layout in the spring 2008 CTMH idea book. I loved the colors and papers, and they fit so well with his photo, so I just changed it a little to fit the supplies I had.



Recipe:
Friendship Alphabet Small stamp set
It’s a Guy Thing Level 2 papers & My Stickease
Desert Sand, Colonial White, Cocoa & Olive cardstock
Desert Sand ink
Pewter photo hangers
Olive button
Tan hemp

LOAD #9 - Explore

My last layout from Pennypickles. I had many more photos than I wanted to scrap, so I actually am inserting a pocket page (it holds 12 4"x6" photos) between this layout and the one I posted yesterday. This layout was inspired by a Stickersnfun.com sketch.



Recipe:
Boom-di-Ada level 2 papers
Buttercup, Autumn Terracotta & Barn Red cardstock
Autumn terracotta & Barn Red ink
Autumn Terracotta marker
Autumn Terracotta ribbon
Irresistibles Lots of Dots stickers
3-D foam tape

LOAD #8 - Fun Times

Our first week of LOAD is over, and what a fun challenge it's been so far! If you are planning to participate, this is the last day you can post your first layout. This is my favorite layout so far this month. I love the color combo, and I probably should remember to use it more, plus all the circles add such a fun feel to the layout. The design was inspired by a stickersnfun.com sketch that I tweaked quite a bit to fit my photos.



Recipe:
Make It count, Gear Up & Ticket to Ride stamp sets
Tinkering Level 2 papers
Goldrush, Bamboo & Autumn Terracotta cardstock
Goldrush, Twilight & Autumn Terracotta ink
DE “F”, “U”, “N”
Autumn Terracotta embroidery floss

LOAD #7 - Pennypickles

Before I show you today's layout, I want to thank the ladies that have been participating in the LOAD challenge. You are all doing a great job, and it's so fun to see your layouts every day. We need 2 more participants in order to have the prize drawing, so anyone who has been thinking about joining, please start posting! You have until tomorrow to post your first layout. Just a quick clarification. We're counting layouts, not pages, so please post double page layouts as one LOAD, not on two separate days. Thanks! Now for today's layout. If you live in Southern California and have kids, a trip to Pennypickles Imagination Workshop in Temecula is a great way to spend an afternoon. We went with four kids ranging from four years old to eight, and they had a great time. Even older kids would probably appreciate it and be able to get more out of the science behind the hands-on exhibits. The adults really enjoyed it, too!



Recipe:
Stocking Style stamp set
You Rock Level 2 papers
Outdoor Denim, Smokey Plum & Indian Corn Blue cardstock
Outdoor Denim & Smokey Plum ink
Outdoor Denim marker
Outdoor Denim brads
Indian Corn Blue embroidery floss
Pattern: Personality Presence from "Imagine"

LOAD #6 - 4th of July

I love to surf the net looking for scrapbooking sketches that I can use. I found a fun one on Valerie Salmon's Got Sketch site and thought I'd give it a try. I love the results!



Recipe:
Boom stamp set
Blue Ribbon Level 2 papers
Indian Corn Blue & Colonial White cardstock
Outdoor Denim, Cranberry & Honey ink
Outdoor Denim & Cranberry markers
Cranberry grosgrain ribbon
DE Stars

LOAD #5 - Elliot's Graduation

If you haven't used Jeanette Lynton's pattern books, here's a great reason to check one out: they are SO versatile. For instance, I used the pattern "Conclusion Combo" from Imagine for this layout, but I rotated both pages 180 degrees so that the larger photo was on the top left corner. I also added a picture to one of the journaling spots and placed journaling where a picture should be. If you want to see what the pattern looks like per the book, check out this layout.



Recipe:
Good Times Level 2 papers
Colonial White, Buttercup, Sweet Leaf & Chocolate cardstock
Chocolate ink
Chocolate marker
Heartfelt Whimsy die cuts
Love Letters rub-ons
Sweet Leaf button

LOAD #4 - Happy Father's Day

I'm back from my amazing scrapbook retreat. Great food and three days of my favorite hobby; how can you beat that? I meant to have this layout posted earlier, but I was having problems with my internet connection. I can think of a million ways I would rather spend my day than trying to figure out what the internet phone tech is talking about, but at least it's fixed for now! Here's layout #4. This is one of those "not loving it but at least it's done" layouts. I'm sure I could add more stuff to it, but I decided to leave it for now.



Recipe:
A Little Everything, June Word Puzzle & Priceless Love Word Puzzle stamp sets
Magic Moments Level 2 papers
Dutch Blue & Honey cardstock
Dutch Blue & Cocoa ink
Cocoa marker
Cocoa grosgrain ribbon

LOAD #3 - Corn Huskers

I should be coming home today, but I probably won't have time to post my layout until Monday, so please post yours for me to see when I get back!

**************
My kids are great at husking corn. I can't stand doing it, but they actually think it's fun, so I had to snap a few pictures! You probably can't see it very well, but I cut an ear of corn using a Cricut (I don't have one but the ladies at the scrapbook retreat were generous in sharing theirs), and then used a honey marker to draw the kernels.



Recipe:
Homestead Alphabet stamp set
Caprice Level 2 paper & My Stickease
Crystal Blue, Honey & Sweet Leaf cardstock
Chocolate & Sweet Leaf ink
Honey marker
Chocolate brads
Tan hemp
Cricut Cartridge: From My Kitchen

LOAD #2 - Gifts

I'm still up in the mountains enjoying uninterrupted scrapbooking time, but here is post #2 for the LOAD challenge. Feel free to post your links and leave a comment.

********
Here's my second layout. I thought the bright primary colors were perfect to celebrate a new baby, and I love the Color-Ready Alphabet stickers. They are so versatile.



Recipe:
Animal Cookies Level 2 papers & My Stickease
Dutch Blue cardstock
Tulip & Sunflower ink
Topiary, Sunflower, Dutch Blue & Holiday Red buttons
Topiary, Sunflower & Dutch Blue embroidery floss
Hodgepodge Color-Ready Alphabet stickers

LOAD #1 - Baby Shower

As you read this, I am either driving up to the mountains or already there, scrapping away. Please post your links and I will post my pictures on Monday when I again have access to a computer!

**********

It’s Monday morning, and I’m back from a wonderful weekend of scrapping in the mountains. I got a lot done, so here is my first layout for the LOAD challenge. I didn’t have any B&T papers that matched the colors in my photos, so I used the Welcome Baby stamp set and Indian Corn Blue ink to create a background strip.



Recipe:
Welcome Baby, Field Trip Alphabet & Hodgepodge Alphabet stamp sets
Animal Cookies Creative Basics papers
Buttercup, Indian Corn Blue & Lilac Mist cardstock
Indian Corn Blue & Clover Meadow ink
Indian Corn Blue marker
CM heart punch

LOAD Challenge

In order to kick start my mojo, I think it's time for another LOAD (Layout a Day) Challenge. So who wants to join me? It's not as scary as it sounds, I promise! Basically, anyone who signs up will try to create one layout for each day in October, for a total of 31 layouts. The layouts can be single or double page, mini album, whatever you happen to be working on right now.

Here's how it works:
1. I will create a post for each day of the month.
2. You create a layout, and then take a picture or scan of it.
3. Post your layout online somewhere (your blog, Photobucket, Split Coast Stampers gallery, etc.). Please make sure I won't need a password to access your layout.
4. Leave a comment on my post with a link to your picture.
5. You have one week after I create my post to finish and post your layout, so the first layout will be due no later than next Friday.

I am happy to help anyone who is technologically challenged get her layouts posted. If we have at least 5 people (beside myself) participate, at the end of the month I will put the names of everyone who finished 31 layouts into a drawing to win a Close to My Heart My Reflections Level 2 paper pack and coordinating My Stickease. So you finish the month with 31 layouts scrapped, plus a chance at scrapbook supplies. What a win-win situation! Please let me know if you plan to participate. The more, the merrier.

I'm leaving for a scrapbook retreat in the mountains this afternoon, so I can't post a layout for the next three days, but I will schedule a post for each day so that everyone who wants to post their layout can do so. Happy scrapping, everyone!