King's Staircase Layout

Back to Hampton Court for some more spectacular interior designs! The King's Staircase was our entry point to the apartments of King William III. I loved the pictures my hubby took of the staircase, but I had a really hard time coming up with a layout that would do them justice. After a week of playing with it, moving things around, and them moving them back, I finally decided to pull everything off the background paper and try a whole new look. Not sure I love it as much as I love the photos, but at least it's done! The murals in the photo were done by Antonio Verrio, and the theme is Victory of Alexander over the Caesars. The ironwork balustrade is by French ironworker Jean Tijou.

Recipe:
Silhouette Level 2 papers
Sky, Bamboo & Black cardstock
Sky & Black ink
Licorice Opaques pearls
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title, border, banners
Cricut Artistry cartridge: title shape
Cricut Artiste cartridge: crown

Dance Festival Layout

I pulled out these photos several weeks ago to scrapbook, but I couldn't get my Southwest digital cartridge (it has a cowboy hat and boots on it) to work in Cricut Craft Room. Am I the only one who's bummed that Craft Room is going away? I was so sad when I heard it was being discontinued, because I own an Expression and would have to buy a brand new machine if I want to use Design Space. I really love the simplicity of the Expression (put a cartridge in, select, and cut), and am not sure I want to sacrifice that for a cloud based system, especially considering all the traffic on our home network - LOL! Not to mention the mixed reviews I've heard about Design Space. Oh well, I guess I will have to make that decision soon, so if anyone loves their Explore Air and Design Space, feel free to weigh in below in the comments section!

And back to my layout . . . Since I couldn't use my digital cartridge, I cut out a boy and girl figure from Artbooking and colored them to match the photos. The design of the layout is based on the May Blend-a-Sketch challenge from Scrap Our Stash. I used the vertical strips and circle plus two photos from the left page, and then replaced the four paper sections on the right page with three photos and a journaling space. I also used the bracket and added some more vertical strips to tie the two pages together.

The sketch:

My layout:

Recipe:
Spring Fun papers (KI Memories)
Kraft, Chocolate, Sky & Colonial White cardstock
Chocolate marker (Zig)
ShinHan Touch Twin markers - Barely Beige, Mahogany, Warm Grey #4, Marine Blue & Tender Pink
Trinkets Wooden Shapes
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: couple, title
Cricut Artiste cartridge: bracket
Challenges: Bitten By the Bug celebrations featuring dancing (I didn't have any square dancing Cricut cuts, so I dressed the Cricut couple up to match my little dancers!)

Fountain Court Layout

Another layout from Hampton Court. This place was huge and very interesting, so there will be many more layouts to come! I started with a sketch from Sketch-n-Scrap and pulled out a bunch of old CTMH supplies to embellish my photos. I stamped the title and hand cut it, so my hand is still a little cramped from cutting. It makes me glad I have a Cricut that I can use most of the time for titles!

The sketch:

My layout:

Recipe:
Keepsake Alphabet stamp set
Free Spirit Level 2 papers
Autumn Terracotta & Colonial White cardstock
Just Blooms Flowers - Paradise & Spring Blossom
Autumn Terracotta & Heavenly Blue organdy ribbon
Autumn Terracotta & Colonial White craft buttons
Autumn Harvest Bigger Brads
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: photo corners
Challenges: Heart 2 Heart National Scrapbooking Month Celebration (create a scrapbook layout using CTMH products - I used up some stash on this one but hope to use some of my brand new stuff soon!); Splitcoast Stampers Stash Busters challenge (use 3 patterned papers, brads, a die-cut machine, and hidden journaling - mine is on the tag attached to the ribbon bow)

Georgian Beauty Layout

After taking some time off from scrapping my London photos, I felt ready to do a few more pages, so here is the continuation of our visit to the Georgian wing of Hampton Court. For the scalloped border across the top, I didn't feel like firing up my Cricut so I used a pair of my Fiskars decorative edged scissors. How's that for old school?!

I also added a Flip-Flap to the picture on the bottom right, and it contains an additional photo plus a  journaling card. I was inspired by this design from Sketches in Thyme PL Style, but I couldn't figure out how to add something across the center above the wallpaper border without it looking too busy, so I just left it plain.

Recipe:
Tiny Typewriter Alphabet, Beautiful You, & Baroque Borders stamp sets
Indian Corn Blue, Hollyhock & Champagne cardstock
Indian Corn Blue, Hollyhock & Garnet ink
Pearl Opaques
Cricut Wall Decor & More cartridge: title
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title box
Cuttlebug embossing folder: Wicker Weave
Pattern: EMS Sketch 65

Love My Boys Layout

I must be on a Dr. Seuss roll this week, since this is the second Seuss-themed layout I've created! In the midst of so many event-focused layouts, it's fun to sometimes scrapbook the just for fun moments like this one of my hubby and boys sporting their Cat in the Hat hats.

Recipe:
Enchantment Fundamentals paper - New England Ivy
New England Ivy, Cranberry & White Daisy cardstock
New England Ivy, Cranberry & Desert Sand ink
Black marker
Pear & Partridge PML cards
Snapshot Complements
Red shimmer trim
Red enamel gems
Milepost Shapes brackets
3-D foam tape
Cuttlebug embossing folder: Swiss Dot
Pattern: Sketch-n-Scrap #152

Seussical the Musical Layout

We went to an excellent middle school production of Seussical the Musical on Saturday and, even though I seldom scrap things right after they happen, this proved to be the exception! I had just been looking at the first sketch challenge from Sketch-n-Scrap's National Scrapbook Day celebration, and so I purchased three photos to use with the sketch. SNS also challenged us to use 6 items that are older than two years (not hard with my stash), so here they are: Stampin' Up Loves Me patterned papers, Cotton Candy cardstock, Cotton Candy washi tape, Best Day Ever alphabet stickers and journaling card, Flamingo enamel dots, and pink ric-rac. I added the little pom-poms because they reminded me of the pom-pom clovers the audience was supposed to wave when Horton was looking for the clover with the Who's on it amid a whole field of clover!

Recipe:
Loves Me patterned paper (SU)
Peace patterned paper (Bella Blvd)
Cotton Candy & Saddle cardstock
Cotton Candy & Lagoon ink
Clay & Tender Pink ShinHan Touch Twin markers
Black & Chocolate markers
White gel pen (Sakura)
Cotton Candy washi tape
Pink ric-rac (origin unknown)
My Crush Best Day Ever alphabet stickers & mini journaling card
Flamingo enamel dots
Pom-poms (Creatology)
Cricut Artistry cartridge: title, heart geotag
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: large heart
Pattern: Sketch-n-Scrap NSD challenge 1 sketch
Challenges: Lasting Memories hearts challenge

EMS Sketch Challenge 66 - Luau

It's National Scrapbook Day, and I was inspired to whip up a sketch! It's my first in a long time, so it's not very fancy, but hopefully the bones of it will inspire you on your creative journey. Enjoy, and don't forget to use the link-up below to post a link to your completed layout.

The sketch:

My layout:

Recipe:
Best Friends Forever stamp set
Summer Stack patterned papers (DCWV)
Desert Sand, Pear, Peacock & Goldrush cardstock
Pear, Peacock & Goldrush ink
Peacock Green ShinHan Touch Twin marker
Palm Tree stickers (Creative Imaginations)
Cricut Artistry cartridge: title, pineapple
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: smile
Challenges: Bitten By the Bug smile challenge

An InLinkz Link-up

1st Grade Open House

Since I wasn't being inspired by my London trip photos, I decided to switch gears and try some school pictures. These are from when my son was in 1st grade, and he's now in 7th, so you can see I'm a trifle behind! There's no journaling on the layout because I will be slipping a photo storage page between the two pages and there's a journaling card on there.

Recipe:
Classmate Alphabet stamp set
Afraid to Sink and Sparkle & Shine patterned papers (Bella Blvd)
Honey, Fern, Pacifica & Blush cardstock
Honey, Fern, Pacifica & Desert Sand ink
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: ruler, frame, stars
Pattern: EMS Sketch Challenge 18
Challenges: Lasting Memories stars challenge