Walking in a Winter Wonderland Layout

This layout was inspired by a bunch of challenges! I was searching high and low for a new sketch to scrap these photos (there aren't many multi-photo, double page sketch challenges out there), and I thought the January sketch from Stick It Down might work well with a few more photos. It reminded me of a bulletin board, so I went with a kraft background and added patterned paper pieces and photos cut to random sizes. Since I was scrapping snow play pictures, Heart 2 Heart's Season of White challenge inspired me to add some "snow" along the bottom of the layout and die-cut and punched snowflakes around the page. The snowflakes also worked for the Lasting Memories' tic-tac-toe challenge, with some blue enamel dots added to complete the left vertical row.

Recipe:
White Pines Level 2 papers
Kraft, Cranberry, Glacier & White Daisy cardstock
Chocolate, Cranberry & Glacier ink
Chocolate marker (Zig)
Blue enamel dots
Diamond Stickles (Ranger)
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: title, large snowflakes
Medium snowflake punch (Martha Stewart)
Small snowflake punch (EK Success)
Pattern: Stick It Down January double page sketch

Topstitch Baby Card

I volunteered to make a card for the group gift for a baby shower, and it ended up being more difficult than I expected. For one thing, I don't usually make square cards, so I was trying to figure out how to adapt my rectangle-focused mindset, plus I hardly ever make baby cards, so that was another challenge. I finally came up with something that I think works, and hopefully the mother-to-be will appreciate it!

Recipe:
Baby Firsts stamp set (SU)
Topstitch Level 2 papers
Heavenly Blue, Chocolate & Colonial White cardstock
Heavenly Blue, Bay Pink, Chocolate & Taffy ink
Heavenly Blue, Chocolate & Buttercup markers
Heaven;y Blue ribbon
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: scalloped frame

Cascade Canyon Layout

For my final train trip layout, CTMH's Snowhaven paper seemed like a perfect fit, and I was excited for Heart 2 Heart's Cold Hands, Warm Heart challenge because it gave me a chance to use the cute mittens die-cut from the Cricut Artistry cartridge! My journaling reflects how cold it was at Cascade Canyon, but we were able to warm up by doing some things as a family.

Recipe:
Charm Uppercase, Charm Lowercase, Whooo's Your Valentine & In the Background stamp sets
Snowhaven Level 2 papers
Whisper, Cranberry, Crystal Blue, Black & White Daisy cardstock
Whisper, Cranberry, Crystal Blue & Black ink
Black marker
Slate polka dot washi tape
Cranberry organdy ribbon
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag, journal box, hearts
Cricut Artistry cartridge: mittens, snowflakes, scalloped border
Mini heart & snowflake punches (EK Success)
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge 30
Challenges: Lasting Memories ribbon, washi tape, or paper strips challenge (I used one piece of ribbon, three strips of washi, and I picked a paper that looks like paper strips, so you could say I used all three!); Bitten By the Bug 2 Snow Much Fun challenge

Train Coming Round the Bend Layout

The colors on these photos were a true challenge for me, as I was initially trying to find a paper pack in my vast stash that contained red, green, black, and yellow, all in the correct shades. It was an impossible task, but I finally stumbled across a forgotten pack of papers from 2004 when color blocking had just started to be popular. Even though they only had red and black, I thought that was an okay compromise, especially once I added cardstock and embellishment in yellow and green.

Recipe:
Kyla's Classic Color Block Papers (Paper Pizazz)
Ruby, Juniper, Goldrush & White Daisy cardstock
Juniper & Goldrush ink
Black marker
White gel pen (Sakura)
Ruby baker's twine
Black epoxy bubbles
Aqua Dots
Enjoy #Life card
Heart punch (EK Success)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title, tags
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge 19
Challenges: Bitten By the Bug 2 Elvis challenge (I used lyrics from Mystery Train as the title for this layout); Lasting Memories punch challenge (I used a heart punch several times); Splitcoast Stampers VSBN music challenge (I was inspired to use lyrics from the theme song "We've Only Just Begun" on the tag on my right hand page)

Coyote Village Layout

Still scrapping Mesa Verde, this time at Coyote Village. I went a little fanciful on the journaling after I found a prompt from the My Crush Wildwood Assortment, but I guess looking at such ancient places always makes me wonder about the people who lived there!

Recipe:
Jackson Level 2 papers
Glacier, Cocoa, Barn Red & White Daisy cardstock
Glacier, Cocoa, Barn Red & Cashmere ink
Black marker
My Crush Wildwood Assortment
Paper clip
White Daisy baker's twine
Cricut Southwest cartridge: title, rabbit, coyote, arrows
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge 24
Challenges: Scrap Our Stash tic-tac-toe challenge ( I chose the bottom row with twine, paper clip, and the color blue)

Far View Communities Layout

There were so many interesting sites at Mesa Verde, including the Far View Communities of mesa-top villages. Once again, we took lots of photos but I managed to narrow it down to my favorite eight! The sketch I used actually features eight vertical 4" x 6" photos, but I managed to adapt it to fit my photos by making a couple of changes. For the Music challenge over at Scrapbook.com, I used some lyrics from Amy Grant's song "If these Walls Could Speak" as my journaling because it's a little fascinating to ponder what scenes these ancient walls could tell about if they could only speak.

Recipe:
Newsprint Alphabet (SU)
Pathfinding Level 2 papers
Cashmere, Champagne, Goldrush & Autumn Terracotta cardstock
Blue Vellum (Paper Pizazz)
Cashmere, Chocolate & Goldrush ink
Pure Brown marker (Zig)
Cricut Southwest Cartridge: sun, jars
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: squares
Chevron embossing folder
Pattern: Let's Scrap 1-1-17
Challenges: Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog use something new (I purchased the Southwest digital cartridge today to use to scrap Mesa Verde photos!)

Explore Spruce Tree House Layout

Gotta confess, my first instinct with this layout was to keep to a totally neutral palette of tans and browns, but I found a fun color dare that encouraged me to add the CTMH colors of Pomegranate and Fern, and I love how it turned out! Sometimes it pays to take a risk, right? I kept the layout pretty simple since I have lots of other Mesa Verde photos to scrap and wanted to keep things moving!

Recipe:
A Typeface stamp set
Paper Fundamentals Basics & Enchantment Assortments
Pomegranate, Cashmere cardstock
Pomegranate, Fern & Cashmere ink
Colonial White brads
Fern thick twine
Cricut Artistry cartridge: arrows
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: Explore
Pattern: EMS Sketch challenge 44
Challenges: Color My Heart Color Dare #225; Lasting Memories Buttons, Bling & Brads challenge (obviously I went with brads)

People on Parade Layout

My final 2014 Rose Parade layout! I actually only scrapbooked a few pictures from this event and put the rest in photo storage pages, something I plan to do more of this year. While I love creating layouts, I'm running out of space to store my completed albums, so I'm hoping to cut down to only two albums per year. My husband really doesn't want to move again because I've run out of storage space for my albums - LOL!

Recipe:
Extreme Happiness & You are My Happy stamp sets
Moondoggie Level 2 papers
Kraft, Cranberry, Bamboo & White Daisy cardstock
Cranberry, Garden Green, Honey & Indian Corn Blue ink
Garden Green spiral clip
3-D foam tape
Cricut Wall Decor & more cartridge: title
Pattern: Stick It Down January single page sketch

Everything's Coming Up Roses Layout

I received a Bella Blvd kit as a prize a while back and it was still in pristine condition because I couldn't bring myself to cut into those pretty papers, but I finally took the plunge and used two pieces! I know, not much, but it's a start, right? I used a sketch from Me & Mine as a starting point for my layout and then I played along with a few challenges for added inspiration. Be sure to check out the challenge links below.

Recipe:
Friendship Alphabet Small stamp set
Molly papers (Bella Blvd)
Raspberry, Lagoon & Canary cardstock
Slate, Whisper & Lagoon ink
Steel marker (Zig)
Whisper & Sunkiss Yellow craft buttons
Pastel Yellow & Teal embroidery floss (Making Memories)
Outdoor Denim brads
Cricut Accent Essentials cartridge: flowers
Pattern: Me & Mine December/January sketch
Challenges: Another Freaking Scrappy Challenge "Grey" (I started with gray patterned paper as my base, then edged everything in grey ink, plus I added grey buttons to my pink flowers and journaled with a grey marker); Bitten By the Bug 2 New Year Something New challenge (I scrapbooked New Year's pictures, plus used two things that were new to me: the Bella Blvd papers and the flower cuts from the Accent Essentials cartridge); Splitcoast Stampers Stash Busters challenge to use products beginning with "BEGIN" (I used Bella Blvd papers, Embroidery floss, Grey buttons, Ink, and Nine die-cut flowers)

At the Station Layout

I'm hosting the January scrapbooking challenge thread at Splitcoast Stampers, and in line with the theme of "beginnings," I'm asking people to use this photo for inspiration.

The picture made me think of the anticipation of waiting for a trip to start, so I picked up on that idea with my journaling, and to go along with the picture of the track, I used train track paper and created a track to hold my journaling. If you're feeling inspired, come play along with us over at Splitcoast Stampers!

Recipe:
Whippersnapper papers (Rusty Pickle)
Desert Sand, Ruby, Outdoor Denim, Bamboo & White Daisy cardstock
Desert Sand, Ruby, Outdoor Denim, Indian Corn Blue & Whisper ink
White gel pen (Sakura)
Silver metallic marker
Durables Artisan Studs
Cricut Artiste cartridge: title
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch17Jan

800 Years Ago Layout

This month, I'm hosting several challenges over at Splitcoast Stampers, including the Stash Busters Challenge. Our January scrapping theme is beginnings, so in order to help my fellow scrappers clear out some stash, I asked them to use products on their layouts that started with the letters from the word "Begin." For my sample layout, I rounded up Buttons, Embossed cardstock, Grosgrain ribbon, It's a Guy Thing paper, and some Number stickers.

Recipe:
It's a Guy Thing Level 2 papers
Cocoa, Indian Corn Blue, New England Ivy, Cashmere & Colonial White cardstock
New England Ivy, Indian Corn Blue & Bamboo ink
Barn Red marker
My Crush Wildwood alphabet stickers
Olive & Cocoa craft buttons
Brown grosgrain ribbon (Michaels)
Staple
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: trees, fence
Pattern: Make It Monday Sketch 78

EMS Sketch Challenge 62 - New Years 2014 Layout

Happy New Year, everyone! After a heart to heart reflection with my hubby about the ups and downs of the year, I spent the last hours of 2016 and the first ten minutes of 2017 scrapping. I'm going to try to post a monthly sketch challenge on my blog this year (New Year's resolution, anyone?), so here's the January one. Feel free to change it up if the picture sizes or orientations don't quite fit your needs, and please post a link to your completed layout so I can check it out!

The sketch:

My layout:

Recipe:
Chalk It Up Level 2 papers
White Daisy cardstock
Honey ink
Black marker
White gel pen (Sakura)
Enjoy #Life cards
Purple Glitter Gems
Cricut Artiste cartridge: New Years 2014

Update: Here's a layout using the sketch from Sandy over at It's a Family Affair:

And one Sharon at Sea View Scrapping:

Thanks for playing along, Sandy and Sharon!