Open House Layout

I decided I needed to go back and do a few layouts for my sons' school albums so I don't end up trying to scrapbook 10 years of school photos when my kids graduate from high school. Can anyone relate? Anyway, here's one from my oldest son's first grade open house. I used the Week 143 sketch from Nuts About Sketches, and I incorporated the Fabulous Friday challenge from Frosted Designs: add circles to your layout.

Recipe:
Atomic Caps stamp set
Stardust Level 2 papers & My Stickease
Bamboo cardstock
Moonstruck & Desert Sand ink
Moonstruck marker

Recycled Giraffe Layout

I won the color challenge last week at Color My Heart so I was asked to be a guest designer this week. The challenge is pretty fun and allows for a lot of creativity: chose a current paper pack and add an unexpected color to it! I picked Roxie, which has a color palette of Black, Cocoa, Desert Sand, Smoothie, and Tulip. I love the animal print papers and, since I wanted to scrap some giraffe pictures, I substituted Sunset and a little Topiary for the Smoothie and Tulip.  The giraffe stamp was a bit challenging to do because I wanted it to face the opposite direction. It took multiple tries to get it right, but here's what I did: I inked up the stamp, then very carefully rolled my brayer across the inked stamp (it tended to stick or slip, so I had to go slowly) and rolled the resulting reversed image onto my paper. The image is a little softer than a regular stamped image and has some nice texture to it. I used EMS Sketch Challenge 30 for the layout design but reversed it.

Recipe:
Welcome Baby & Tiny Typewriter Alphabet stamp sets
Roxie Level 2 papers
Sunset, Topiary & Colonial White cardstock
Sunset, Topiary, Cocoa & Black ink
Black marker
Topiary & Cocoa craft buttons
Wooden button
Sunset Baker's Twine
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge 30
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title

Fly Layout

This week's challenge over at Color My Heart is to create a rainbow based on CTMH's color palette. We had to include red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. I thought the Elemental pack would work well for this, since it already contains four of those colors, plus I added some Gypsy and Sunset cardstock to complete the rainbow. It was a bit of a risk and I'm still not sure I pulled it off entirely, but at least the layout isn't boring! I used EMS Sketch Challenge 6 with some modifications: I put the sunburst where the title is supposed to go and I made the title horizontal. I also added the "Dream Big" stamp because I hope my kids' dreams help them fly.

Recipe:
Hero Alphabet & Dream Big stamp sets
Elemental Level 2 papers & Complements
Gypsy, Sunset & White Daisy cardstock
Creme Brulee, Sunset & Gypsy ink
Pacifica marker
Sunset tag
Creme Brulee Baker's Twine
Pacifica BIgger Brads
3-D foam tape
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge 6

Heroes Layout

Due to my husband's love of airplanes, I have scrapbooked many  pictures of flight museums and airshows, so I was pondering what to do to make this one different. Then I saw the color challenge over at Annabelle Stamps and thought it would be a great combo for these photos. Here's the color combo, and I used Close To My Heart's Grey Wool, Pacifica, and Olive:

I also used a challenge from Scrap It With a Song (be inspired by David Bowies' song "Heroes") to come up with my title, and the sketch is from Let's Scrap. One final challenge helped me move some stuff out of my stash: use eyelets, from Paper Secrets. I certainly needed that one, 'cause the eyelets weren't exactly flying out the door! Even though I probably won't "win" any challenges for this layout, I had so much fun playing along.

Recipe:
A Typeface, You & Me & You Are stamp sets
Elemental & You Rock Level 2 papers
Grey Wool, Pacifica & White Daisy cardstock
Grey Wool, Pacifica & Olive ink
Grey Wool, Pacifica & Olive markers
Pewter Brads (Making Memories)
Pattern: Let's Scrap Sketch 2-22-12
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title & stars

EMS Sketch Challenge 37 - Snow Smiles

One of the June challenges from Scrap It With a Song was to be inspired by Rascal Flatt's song "My wish." I really like the line that says, "If it's cold outside, show the warmth of your smile," so I decided to change my title for this layout from Snow Wars to Snow Smiles. How could I resist when I have that picture of my younger son grinning from ear to ear? (And yes, he is sitting on a stick. Don't ask.) For the sketch, I started with my product (the big die-cut) and worked backward to the sketch. I'm trying to include dimensions with all my sketches from now on, so if you can't see the dimensions, click on the sketch for an enlarged view. I can imagine several different ways to set up the photos, so please feel free to get creative with the design, and leave me a comment with a link to your finished layout.

The Sketch:

My Layout:

Recipe:
Ticket to Ride stamp set
Powder Blue Dot paper (BoBunny)
White Daisy cardstock
Lilac Mist ink
Frosted Bracket Snow die-cut (Fancy Pants)
Winter Whites 3-D stickers (TPC Studio)
Silver & Diamond Stickles (Ranger)
White Daisy embroidery floss
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: large snowflakes

My Sweet Baker Layout

I'm trying to go back and complete some of the scrapbooking variety challenges at Splitcoast Stampers, so here is a layout that, per the challenge, uses strips of paper. If you're interested in participating in this challenge, you can find the details here: SBVC146.  I also used a sketch from Let's Scrap that already had strips, so it was a two-fer! The bowl and oven mitt were designed by me. The title was supposed to represent the brownie squares with melted caramel for the letters, but I only had Chocolate re-inker to mix with the Create-a-Shade paint, so they came out a little dark. Guess I need to get some Desert Sand re-inker. Finally, the recipe card (which I realize has a grammar error but I'm not going to rewrite the whole thing) was crumpled a bit, edge distressed, and sponged with Desert Sand ink to make it look as battered as my actual recipes!

Recipe:
Recipe Box stamp set
Animal Cookies Level 2 papers
Dutch Blue, Desert Sand, Tulip, Chocolate, Colonial White & White Daisy cardstock
Vellum
Chocolate & Desert Sand ink
Chocolate re-inker
Dutch Blue marker
White Gel Pen (Marvy)
Pearl Create-a-Shade Paint
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: flourish, hearts
Pattern: Let's Scrap Sketch 4-27-11

World's Best Dad card

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there. I'm sure there are tons who follow my scrapbooking blog - LOL! Here's the card I designed for my two boys to give to Daddy this year. Don't you just love that Superhero paper? I used Superhero because it fit so well with the colors from the Color My Heart Color Dare #4: use Cranberry, Sunkiss Yellow, and Sky, with optional Moonstruck. I also used this challenge sketch from 4 Crafty Chicks:

 And here's my card:

Recipe:
World's Best Dad stamp set
Superhero Level 2 papers
Colonial White cardstock
Sunkiss Yellow textured cardstock
Moonstruck, Sky & Cranberry ink
Cranberry brads
3-d foam tape

The Best Day Layout

Paper Secrets has a challenge this month to create a layout using lyrics from a Taylor Swift song. I thought it sounded like fun, but I know next to nothing about Taylor Swift, so I Googled her and found a song called The Best Day. It's actually a tribute to her mom, but I loved the line in it about her father, so I decided to use it for this layout from last Father's Day. Heart 2 Heart challenges also asked to see Father's Day cards and layouts this week, so I'm entering that challenge, too!

Recipe:
Charm Alphabet Upper, Charm Lowercase & AP Tags stamp sets
Grace Level 2 papers
Sky, Cocoa, Twilight & Colonial White cardstock
Barn Red, Cocoa, Twilight, Honey & Olive ink
Barn Red marker
White gel pen (Marvy)
Honey BIgger Brads
Twilight brads
Natural Twill
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: flower border
Pattern: Let's Scrap Sketch 3-28-12

Heart 2 Heart Sketch Challenge 17 - Mother's Day Breakfast

Another Heart 2 Heart Sketch coming your way! I saw a comment from someone last week who likes using sketches but gets frustrated when the sketch doesn't include the dimensions, so I though I'd try something new and add the dimensions and placement of the papers. Hopefully the font is large enough for you to see the letters. Happy scrapping, and don't forget to add your link to the Heart 2 Heart blog so we can check out your creation.

The Sketch:

My Layout:

Recipe:
Say It in Style & Friendship Alphabet Small stamp sets
Dotty for You Level 2 papers
Desert Sand, Smoothie & Creme Brulee cardstock
Lagoon, Smoothie & Creme Brulee ink
Grey Wool marker
Just Blooms Paper Shapes - Flutter & Paradise
Colonial White Bigger brads
Clear craft button
Baker's Twine - Paradise
3-D foam tape

Life of the Party Layout

For Virtual Scrapbook Night at Splitcoast Stampers, one of the challenges was to scraplift a layout created by the person who signed up in front of you. My muse was Sewflake, and I chose this layout for inspiration. I reversed the design, but otherwise tried to copy her layout using a much brighter color scheme for these pictures of my hubby's birthday party at our favorite Mexican restaurant. The challenge is still going on until June 22nd, so feel free to check it out here if you want to join.

Recipe:
Posterboard Alphabet & Holiday Hoopla stamp set
Superhero Level 2 papers
Sky, Honey & White Daisy cardstock
Cranberry, Moonstruck, Honey, Sky & Black ink
Cranberry & Clear craft buttons
Cranberry & Moonstruck embroidery floss
Decor Journaling Spots
Cranberry metal tags & brads
3-D foam tape
Red ric-rac (Craft Essentials)
Wishblade: title using MV Boli font

Dotty for You Thank You Card

I'm working on cards for Part 2 of my Dotty for You workshop, so here's another simple but fun card. Lots of stamping on this one. Don't forget that if you purchase two stamp sets this month, you get a third one (of equal of lesser value) free!

Recipe:
A Little Everything, Hooray Bouquet & Connections stamp sets
Dotty for You Level 2 papers
Colonial White cardstock
Lagoon, Sweet Leaf & Sunset inks
Sunset button brad
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: flower

Belated Birthday Card

The idea for this card was inspired by my friend Carla at my last card workshop. She  happened to mention her usual response to forgetting someone's birthday, and I was trying to think how I could make it into a slightly more polite card, so here it is! I made two versions using a card sketch from Stampin' Royalty. The inside says, "I forgot your birthday!" Both are pretty simple, but hopefully they will get the message across.

Recipe:
Welcome Baby & Hodgepodge Alphabet stamp sets
Dotty for You Level 2 papers
Colonial White & Laggon cardstock
Lagoon, Sweet Leaf, Grey Wool & Blush ink
Lagoon & Black markers
Colonial White ric-rac
Sparkle

Belt Graduation Layout

The Heart 2 Heart challenge this week was to use black and white plus one color of our choice on our project. I don't have a lot of black patterned paper, so I made some of my own using stamps. I chose Moonstruck as my additional color. It was harder than I though creating such a large canvas using only those three colors. I'm not sure my end result isn't a little clinical looking, but at least I captured the memory.

Recipe:
Friendship Alphabet Small, Noted Backgrounds, Blue Ribbon & My Game stamp sets
Superhero Level 2 papers
Moonstruck, Black & White Daisy cardstock
Moonstruck, Black & Versamark ink
Black marker
Black ribbon
White embossing powder
3-D foam tape
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: banners
Pattern: Let's Scrap sketch 5-7-12

Search High & Low Layout

I guess I'm in inspired-by-a-song mode, because the title for this layout slipped into my head and I didn't realize until today that it's from Climb Every Mountain, a song from one of my favorite musicals, The Sound of Music. My kids weren't exactly chasing their dreams, but I thought the idea of searching everywhere was fitting for this layout. I was also inspired by Patti's Thursday challenge at Splitcoast Stampers: use the quote she gave us, plus bright colors, ribbon, and buttons. She wanted us to use squares, too, but I couldn't quite make that work. And since I'm such a talented seamstress (not), I thought I'd participate in the Fabulous Friday Stitching Challenge at Frosted Designs. It takes real talent to pierce holes for your stitching using a template and yet end up with a crooked line - LOL! Oh well, practice makes perfect, so hopefully I'll get the hang of this stitching thing before my eyesight goes and I can no longer thread a needle.

Recipe:
My Peeps & Sensational Season stamp sets
Splendor Level 2 papers
Moonstruck, Chocolate, Topiary & Colonial White cardstock
Moonstruck, Chocolate & Goldrush ink
Moonstruck, Topiary & Goldrush markers
Colonial White ric-rac
Topiary, Chocolate & Colonial White craft buttons
Topiary, Chocolate, Moonstruck & White Daisy embroidery floss
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title & tabs
Pattern: Let's Scrap Sketch 8-31-11

Teacher Thank You Cards

Today was the last day of school for my boys, and I woke up with the dreaded sensation of having forgotten something. Sure enough, I had neglected to make teacher thank you cards. My morning was spent cranking out some cards, and then I zipped over to the schools to deliver them. They're pretty simple since I didn't have a lot of time to complete them, but I think the teachers liked them anyway.

 

Recipe:
Blue Ribbon, Noted Backgrounds & Thank You stamp sets
Typeset Level 2 papers
Creme Brulee, Barn Red, Juniper & Colonial White cardstock
Cocoa, Barn Red & Juniper ink
Cocoa marker
3-D foam tape
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: letter & numbers

GREAT NEWS!

 You have my permission

to take advantage of Close to My Heart this month:

Between June 1st and June 30th, when you purchase any two stamp sets (sizes A,B,C,D or E) at full retail price, you will receive a third stamp set of your choice  (of equal or lesser value) FREE - a savings of up to $29.95!

Stamp sets that count towards the qualifying purchase include full-priced A,B,C,D and E-size sets only. Customizable (K), Workshops on the Go, Cricut Collection, and Stamp of the Month are not available as free sets. Shipping charges are based on the full retail value of each item, but there is no tax on free items.

Make your list and check it twice, but don't wait too long to place an order with me. This offer is only valid until June 30th, so contact me or visit my website today to take advantage of this awesome special. And don't forget to pick up a cute June Stamp of the Month for only $5 with your purchase of $50 or more!

Planted with Love Layout

I was able to finish up quite a few challenges for National Scrapbooking Month. Here's the last of them,  finished right at the end on May 31st! Denise over at Let's Scrap gave us a photo she found on Pinterest to use as inspiration, and I lifted the color scheme and the tree. I used quite a few of the retired Mayberry papers, with a tiny bit of Dotty for You thrown in. All the hearts are punched, the tree was stamped, then cut out by hand, and the flower was paper pieced. Since I included branches, I'm also entering this layout in the Branching Out challenge from 4 Crafty Chicks!

My Layout:

Inspiration Photo:


Recipe:
Grown with Love, Flower Pot & Polka Dot Alphabet stamp sets
Mayberry & Dotty for You Level 2 papers
Honey, Sky, Sweet Leaf, Smoothie & Colonial White cardstock
Honey, Sky, Sweet Leaf, Smoothie & Cocoa ink
Honey, Sky, Smoothie & Olive markers
Colonial White ric-rac
Cocoa grosgrain ribbon
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: bracket
Pattern: Let's Scrap Sketch 12-7-11